Acute hemorrhagic pancreatic necrosis in mice. Influence of the age and sex of the animals and of dietary ethionine, choline, methionine, and adenine sulfate.

The influence of several factors on the development of acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis (pancreatic necrosis) with fat necrosis in mice fed DL-ethionine with a choline-deficient diet has been investigated. The results showed that: a) the incidence of the induced disease is dependent upon the age and sex of the animals and the dietary level of ethionine; b) 100% of young female mice fed 0.5% ethionine develop acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis and die within 5 days; c) the incidence is only 10 to 20% when 0.5% ethionine is fed with either a choline-supplemented diet or with laboratory chow; and d) development of pancreatic pathology is completely prevented by the inclusion in the diet of 0.5% methionine but not by the inclusion of 0.5% adenine. Possible mechanisms whereby choline deficiency potentiates the pancreatotoxicity of ethionine in mice are discussed.