Histochemical study of cholinergic activities in exocrine pancreas of dogs. Modifications related to chronic alcoholism.

An histochemical study has been made of pancreatic biopsies from 5 dogs with gastric and pancreatic Thomas cannulae. 3 dogs received 2 g kg-1 day-1 ethanol for 3, 4 and 48 months; 2 dogs which did not received alcohol served as controls. Acetylcholinesterase has been studied by the histochemical method of Koelle. Choline acetyl transferase by the method of Burt. Our results suggest that there is less acetylcholinesterase activity in the pancreas of alcoholic dogs than in control dogs. This is as more pronounced when the alcohol consumption is prolonged. On the contrary, the intensity of the histochemical reaction for choline acetyl transferase is greater in alcoholic dogs than in controls. Although histochemical methods are only semi-quantitative, these results suggest that the cholinergic tone of the exocrine pancreas is increased in chronic alcoholic dogs. This has already been suggested by previous physiological experiments performed on the same animals.