[Plasma cholecystokinin levels in rats with pancreatic insufficiency induced by intra ductal injection of oleic acid].

Plasma cholecystokinin (CCK) levels in rats with pancreatic insufficiency induced by a single injection of 50 microliters oleic acid into the pancreatic duct were determined by a sensitive and specific bioassay using the isolated rat pancreatic acini. Treatment with oleic acid significantly decreased pancreatic wet weight within 7 days, which lasted until the end of observation (56 days). Histologic examination revealed the destruction of acinar cells and the epithelium of intra- and interlobular ducts. Plasma CCK bioactivity was significantly increased from the pre-treatment values of 0.8 +/- 0.1pM to 5.1 +/- 1.4pM at 24h after oleic acid treatment. After this peak, plasma CCK levels gradually decreased. Even after 56 days, however, plasma CCK levels in oleic acid-treated rats were significantly high compared with those in control rats. In the present study, plasma CCK levels in rats with chronic pancreatitis did not correlate with the progress of pancreatic insufficiency.