A hierarchic approach for experimental investigations into the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis

The complexity of pathogenesis and clinical observations of acute pancreatitis demands a simultaneous experimental investigation at various structural and functional levels. The induction of acute pancreatitis by transformation of a pancreatic edema after short-term pancreatic ischemia was used for studies on the contribution of an alteration of energy metabolism to pathogenesis. The experiments demonstrate that in 70 percent of the rats the pancreatic edema was transformed into acute pancreatitis by 20 min ischemia. This was checked by morphological and enzymic means. For studying the influence of short-term ischemia in the cellular metabolism of acinar cells, pancreatic exocrine cells have been isolated from normal pancreas or that altered by ischemia. These cells were morphologically characterized and their capacity of energy metabolism was quantified.