Acinar cell respiration in experimental acute pancreatitis

The early pathogenetic steps that finally lead to acinar cell necrosis in acute pancreatitis have been characterized only scarcely as yet. Among a lot of hypotheses, one concept favors disturbances of cellular energy metabolism as a major factor that contributes to preterm cell decline. To investigate, whether an experimental acute pancreatitis alters cell respiration, the respiratory capacities of acinar cells isolated from rats with acute pancreatitis were measured. Acute pancreatitis was induced using Popper's model, i.e., a combination of duct obstruction, secretory stimulation, and mesenteric short-term ischemia with subsequent reperfusion. Acinar cells were isolated using a collagenase digestion technique. The respiratory rates of the isolated cells in suspension were measured at 37 degrees C in 100% oxygen-saturated N-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid-buffered Eagle's-minimal essential medium. Resting respiration of the acinar cells uniformly amounted to about 60 pmol of O2/s x 10(6) cells in both the control and the pancreatitis group. Cellular respiration could significantly be stimulated by stepwise uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation by means of 2,4-dinitrophenol in all cell suspensions investigated. The maximum rate of stimulated respiration was diminished in the cells isolated from rats with acute pancreatitis as compared with the controls (79.3 +/- 5.0 vs. 160.2 +/- 15.5 pmol of O2/s x 10(6) cells, p < .05), however. This reduced respiratory load capacity of the acinar cells in acute pancreatitis reflects the restricted ability of the cells to increase respiration on enhanced cellular demand. Since mitochondrial respiration is coupled to oxidative phosphorylation, an altered energy-transforming potential of the acinar cells in acute pancreatitis becomes evident.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)