Quantitative Estimation of the Collagen Content in Normal and Pathologic Pancreas Tissue

Abstract

The aims of the study were to measure the collagen content in pancreas using a colorimetric method and to compare the amount of collagen in normal pancreas (11 cases), diffuse fibrosing pancreatitis (17 cases), and chronic calcifying pancreatitis (11 cases). The procedure of fibrosis measurement was based on the selective capacity of two dyes, Sirius red and fast green, to set on collagen and noncoUagenous proteins, respectively. After staining of sections, colors were eluted from the sections and the specific absorbance of each eluted dye was read on a spectrophotometer. The collagen content in normal pancreata was 26.5 ± 7.2 μg collagen/mg protein. The amount of collagen increased with the age of patients: the mean value of the patients under the age of 50 was 18.2 ± 4 μg collagen/mg protein whereas the mean value in older patients was 31.9 ± 8 μg collagen/mg protein (p < 0.01). The value of collagen in pancreas with a diffuse fibrosing pancreatitis was 44.7 ± 7.5 μg collagen/mg protein. This value was significantly different from the collagen content in normal pancreas (p < 0.001) and in pancreas with a chronic calcifying pancreatitis (77.9 ± 8 μg collagen/mg protein, p < 0.001). This method permits discrimination between different chronic diseases that can also be differentiated on a histopathologic basis.

Expression of Transforming Growth Factor-β₁ in Chronic Pancreatitis

“…Total pancreatic collagen in established chronic pancreatitis may be some three times higher than normal [26]. The types of collagen deposited have been characterized as types I and III within regions of interlobular fibrosis but type III only within regions of intralobular fibrosis [14], In the present study, more wide spread TGF-Pi expression was identified in the ductules in chronic pancreatitis than in normal pancreatic tissues.…”

Repetitive Acute Pancreatic Injury in the Mouse Induces Procollagen α1(I) Expression Colocalized to Pancreatic Stellate Cells

“…an even more rapid accumulation of periacinar fibrosis and altered acinar architecture and resulted in a pattern of fibrosis similar to that found in human chronic pancreatitis (Bedossa et al, 1989;Pitchumoni et al, 1984;Suda et al, 1990). The observation that the pancreatic fibrosis began to resolve after injury was stopped suggests that the processes responsible for matrix resolution are potently active in the pancreas.…”

“…The affinity of the sirius red chromophore via its sulphonic acid group for the amino acid composition of collagen confers excellent selectivity of this dye for collagen and has been used previously to quantify tissue collagen by both spectrophotometric and image analysis methods (Chevallier et al, 1994;Pilette et al, 1998). In normal human pancreas, sirius red staining demonstrates collagen around ducts and within the interlobular septae (Bedossa et al, 1989). As shown in Figure 2, collagen deposition increased during 6 weeks of treatment and diminished but did not normalize during an equal period of recovery.…”

Assessment of six different collagenase-based methods to isolate feline pancreatic islets

“…In humans it has been shown that increasing amount of collagen makes islet isolation less successful (Bedossa et al, 1989). However, we did not attempt to quantify peri-islet matrix in order to clarify the effect of collagen on the efficiency of islet isolation.…”