Pancreatic injury in rabbits with acute renal failure

Acute renal failure (ARF) is a common critical disorder. To decrease the mortality, it is important to prevent ARF from invading other organs in clinical setting. It is not known whether there is a dysfunction in pancreas during the pathogenesis of ARF. This study aimed to investigate the changes of morphology and function on pancreas in ARF rabbits.

Sixty rabbits were randomly divided into four groups. The ARF model of groups 1 and 2 rabbits was established by hypodermic injection of 1% HgCl(2) (1.3 mL/kg) and intramuscular injection of 50% glyceritum (10 mL/kg), respectively. The control groups 1 and 2 were injected with same volume of normal saline. After 24 hours, urea and creatinine contents and pancreatic amylase (AMY) activities in serum were measured using an automatic biochemical analyzer; the insulin levels were measured with radioimmunoassay method. Moreover, morphological alterations were examined by light microscopy; free radicals, nitric oxide (NO), and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in pancreas homogenate were determined.

Morphological study showed that there were vacuolar degeneration and necrosis in pancreas of ARF for both groups 1 and 2. Compared with corresponding control group, the AMY activity was significantly elevated, whereas the INS values were decreased significantly in ARF groups 1 and 2. Malonaldehyde, NO, and NOS in pancreas homogenate were significantly increased, and superoxide dismutase activity was decreased.

These data suggested that there were morphological damage of pancreas and disturbance of pancreatic secretion function in rabbits with ARF. Free radicals-injury and NO excessive release may explain the observed dysfunction.