Influence of hormonal stimulation by caerulein on acute experimental pancreatitis in the rat.

The influence of hormonal stimulation by caerulein administration on acute experimental pancreatitis was investigated in the rat. An experimental model of moderate acute pancreatitis was selected after injecting buffer solution containing sodium taurodeoxycholate and various concentrations of trypsin into the bile-pancreatic duct. During acute experimental pancreatitis caerulein administration increased the mortality rate, the incidence of ascites and the activity of amylase in ascites. Caerulein rendered the pancreatitis more severe also as judged from blind macroscopic evaluation. Amylase and insulin levels in serum and plasma were elevated 6 and 25 h after induction of pancreatitis irrespective of caerulein administration. In pancreatitic rats caerulein decreased the activities of digestive enzymes in pancreatic tissue. The results show that hormonal stimulation by the cholecystokinin-pancreozymin analogue caerulein during acute experimental pancreatitis is harmful.