Alcohol causes a fatty pancreas. A rat model of ethanol-induced pancreatic steatosis.

To develop an animal mode of alcoholic pancreatic steatosis, female Wistar rats were pair fed liquid diets, containing ethanol as 36% of calories or an isocaloric amount of carbohydrate for 3 weeks. Electron microscopic examination showed lipid vesicles localized principally at the bases of pancreatic acinar cells in the ethanol-fed rats. Ethanol feeding significantly increased pancreatic content of cholesteryl ester without changing levels of other lipids. Ethanol feeding enhanced labeled acetate, palmitate, oleate, and linoleate incorporation into cholesteryl ester. Therefore, increased esterification of cholesterol may, in part, explain the observed accumulation of cholesteryl ester.