Maturational effects of cortisol on the exocrine abomasum and pancreas in fetal sheep.

The role of cortisol in the prenatal development of digestive enzymes in the abomasum (prochymosin and pepsinogen) and pancreas (amylase, trypsin, chymotrypsin) has been investigated in the fetal lamb during late gestation. The abomasum and pancreas were collected from 22 unoperated control fetuses (99-145 days gestation; term, 145 +/- 2 days), from seven pairs of twins infused with either saline or cortisol for five days preceding delivery at 127-133 days, and from four 139-143-day-old fetuses adrenalectomized at 120-123 days. Developmental increases (2-8-fold) occurred in protease concentrations in the fetal abomasum and in amylase and chymotrypsin contents in the fetal pancreas. These increases paralleled the normal prepartum rise in fetal plasma cortisol. In addition, the enzyme values were significantly higher in cortisol-infused than in saline-infused fetuses (with the exception of pancreatic amylase) and were significantly lower in adrenalectomized fetuses than in control fetuses at term. The pH of abomasal fluid remained neutral (pH 6.8-8.0) during late gestation and was not affected by cortisol treatment or adrenalectomy. The results suggest that cortisol stimulates the development of the exocrine abomasum and pancreas in fetal sheep and may, thereby, increase the digestive capacity in neonatal lambs. Compared with the pig, another long-gestation species, the sheep has an early development of gastric pepsinogen but a late development of gastric acidity and pancreatic protease activities.