Araki Yoshio, Andoh Akira, Nakamura Fumiyasu, Tasaki Kazuhito, Takenaka Katsuhiko, Komai Yasunobu, Doi Hisakazu, Fujiyama Yoshihide, Bamba Tadao
Department of Internal Medicine, Nagahama Red Cross Hospital, Nagahama, Shiga, Japan.
Pancreas. 2002 Apr;24(3):298-302. doi: 10.1097/00006676-200204000-00014.
Ws/Ws rats have a small deletion of the c-kit gene and are deficient in both mucosal-type mast cells and connective tissue-type mast cells.
To investigate the role of pancreatic mast cells in the development of experimental closed duodenal loop (CDL)-induced pancreatitis using Ws/Ws rats.
Pancreatitis was induced by the CDL technique for 5 and 12 hours, and the subsequent ascites volume, wet pancreatic weight, pancreatic myeloperoxidase activities, and serum amylase levels were evaluated. The pancreatic tissue damage was also evaluated histologically.
The CDL technique induced equally severe ascites, pancreatic edema and hyperemia, and hyperamylasemia in the Ws/Ws versus the control (+/+) rats. The microscopic mucosal damage score was also equivalent in the Ws/Ws and control (+/+) rats, and there were no significant differences in mucosal myeloperoxidase activity between the Ws/Ws and control (+/+) rats.
These results indicate that mast cells may not be crucial for the development of CDL-induced pancreatitis.
