The effect of etretinate, a synthetic retinoid, on pancreatic prostaglandin production.

Prostaglandin E2 levels in hamster pancreas were measured by radioimmunoassay. Control animals (N = 22) were compared to etretinate treated animals (N = 33). There was a highly significant reduction in pancreatic prostaglandin E2 production in the treated animals (means 1.842 ng/mg pancreas and 0.486, p less than 0.0005) suggesting that etretinate is a blocker of pancreatic prostaglandin production.