Effect of endotoxin on digestive enzyme and superoxide dismutase in mouse pancreas

In order to clarify the effect of endotoxin on pancreatic lesions, changes in the level of activity of pancreatic proteolytic enzymes and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured following the intraperitoneal administration of Escherichia coli endotoxin in mice. Microscopic examination revealed that congestion of zymogen granules in acinar cells appeared in the early stages. The accumulation increased gradually and was widespread at 24 h after E. coli endotoxin administration. The serum amylase level increased significantly from its basal level of 1,630 +/- 128 SU to 2,395 +/- 42 SU at 4 h (p less than 0.05), 3,172 +/- 513 SU at 8 h (p less than 0.05), and 2,572 +/- 229 SU at 12 h (p less than 0.05) after E. coli endotoxin administration. The serum lipase level also increased significantly from its basal level of 37.6 +/- 1.6 IU/l to 65.8 +/- 8.9 IU/l at 12 h (p less than 0.05). The level of trypsinogen in the pancreas increased markedly from its basal level of 161.8 +/- 15.7 U/g tissue to 270.0 +/- 9.6 U/g tissue at 2 h (p less than 0.001) after E. coli endotoxin administration and showed continued increases at 8 h (313.3 +/- 10 U/g tissue, p less than 0.001) and 24 h (352.9 +/- 19.3 U/g tissue, p less than 0.001); however, the level of net stimulated secretion of trypsinogen in the medium decreased significantly at 4 h (p less than 0.05) and 8 h (p less than 0.01) after E. coli endotoxin administration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)