Production and characterization of antibodies to rat pancreatic acinar cells.

The contribution of immunologic noxae to the damage of the cells and the induction of autodigestion in the course of acute pancreatitis in rats should be regarded. The isolation of intact acinar cells from rat pancreas offers a new approach to a more specific antiserum being directed against antigens at the outside of the cell membrane. Proof of circulating antibodies was performed using the indirect immunofluorescence reaction method (IFAR). A defined membrane fluorescence was observed at the surface of the acinar cells in vitro and a fluorescence at the septa of lobules marking the borders of acini in vivo.