Ischemia-reperfusion injury on the pancreas in rats: Identification of acinar cell apoptosis

An ischemia-reperfusion injury on the pancreas is involved in the pathophysiology of acute pancreatitis or tissue injuries after pancreas transplantation. On the other hand, recent studies have demonstrated that ischemia-reperfusion induces apoptosis in several organs such as kidney, heart, and brain. In the present study, we sought to characterize a pattern of injury during ischemia-reperfusion on the pancreas and determined whether ischemia-reperfusion on the pancreas causes the apoptotic process. Ischemia-reperfusion was induced by blocking the inferior splenic artery and removing the clamp in pentobarbital-anesthetized rats. Rats were sacrificed at 0-72 hr following a 60-min ischemia. Evans blue extravasation showed 3.5-fold increase at 2 hr after reperfusion, indicating a rapid increase of vascular permeability. Tissue myeloperoxidase activity, an index of neutrophil accumulation, significantly increased in a time-dependent manner until 48 hr after reperfusion. Histological analysis revealed the existences of interstitial cell infiltration and edema. DNA breaks of acinar cells were detected by gel electrophoresis and in situ nick end-labeling, and the numbers strikingly increased at 48 hr after reperfusion. Furthermore, Bax protein, an effector of apoptotic cell death, was expressed in acinar cells. The results indicate that an ischemia-reperfusion injury on the pancreas in rats resembles many features of acute pancreatitis. Apoptosis in acinar cells may be one of the specific features of the ischemia-reperfusion injury on the pancreas. (C) 1997 Academic Press.