Arachidonic acid metabolism in rat pancreatic acinar cells: calcium-mediated stimulation of the lipoxygenase system.

Isolated rat pancreatic acini were employed to demonstrate that the exocrine pancreas can metabolize [14C]-arachidonic acid by way of the lipoxygenase pathway as well as the cyclooxygenase pathway. Analysis by high performance liquid chromatography delineated a monohydroxy acid, presumably 12-L-hydroxy-5,8-10,14-eicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE) as the major lipoxygenase product. The formation of this hydroxy arachidonate derivative was stimulated by the calcium ionophore ionomycin. Stimulation of the lipoxygenase pathway by ionomycin was confirmed by thin layer chromatography. In addition, 6-keto-PGF1 alpha, PGF2 alpha, and PGE2 were identified; and ionomycin, carbamylcholine, and caerulein enhanced the formation of these metabolites of the cyclooxygenase pathway. Ionomycin induced stimulation of HETE formation was inhibited by ETYA and nordihydroguaiaretic acid, but spontaneous and evoked enzyme secretion was unaffected. Thus, although ionomycin, a pancreatic secretagogue, stimulates the lipoxygenase pathway, the precise role of these arachidonate metabolites in the physiology of the exocrine pancreas is still obscure.