Med Hypotheses. 1980 Dec;6(12):1249-74. doi: 10.1016/0306-9877(80)90113-9.
From the assumptions governing the behaviour of primitive cells, a set of corollaries is established and the corollaries are used in coming to an understanding of the growth and differentiation of the pancreas. A case is made out to show that there is a constant replacement of old acini by new throughout the life of the pancreas, and that new acini are derived from primitive cells (fixed reticulum cells) present in the stroma which envelopes the fine ducts. The part played by the mast cells in the process is discussed, and view put forward that circulating thymocytes are mast cell precursors, and that the function of the mast cell is to provide the primitive cells of the pancreas (and the primitive cells of certain other tissues) with Zn in an assimilatable form. The hypothesis is made that Zn can only be assimilated by primitive cells, and, that for organs other than the thymus, it is assimilated in the form of the histamine-Zn complex liberated by the mast cells. The fate of the mast cell is analysed, and the suggestion made that, following degranulation, the mast cell nucleus is transformed into a cell of the eosinophil series. The role of the basophil is also analysed, and the conclusion reached that basophils are mast cells whose development has been modified by plasma.
基于有关原始细胞行为的假设，建立了一组推论，并运用这些推论来理解胰腺的生长和分化。有证据表明，在胰腺的整个生命周期中，旧的腺泡不断被新的腺泡所取代，并且新的腺泡源自包绕细导管的间质中存在的原始细胞（固定网状细胞）。文中讨论了肥大细胞在这一过程中所起的作用，并提出循环中的胸腺细胞是肥大细胞的前体，且肥大细胞的功能是为胰腺的原始细胞（以及某些其他组织的原始细胞）提供可同化形式的锌。提出的假设是，锌只能被原始细胞同化，并且对于胸腺以外的器官，它是以肥大细胞释放的组胺 - 锌复合物的形式被同化的。分析了肥大细胞的命运，并提出在脱颗粒后，肥大细胞核转变为嗜酸性粒细胞系列的细胞。还分析了嗜碱性粒细胞的作用，得出的结论是嗜碱性粒细胞是其发育已被血浆改变的肥大细胞。
