Postnatal development of the exocrine pancreas in suckling goat kids

A total of 25 preruminant Granadina breed goats were used. They were bottle-fed goat milk ad libitum from postnatal day 3 to 28. Until the age of 3 d, kids were fed colostrum. Body weight, pancreas weight, total protein concentration, enzyme activities in pancreatic tissue and hormone concentrations (cortisol, gastrin, T3 and T4) were determined at 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 d of age. Our results show that the rates of pancreatic synthesis and secretion of chymotrypsin are well developed at birth in the kid, and may compensate for possible deficiencies in gastric and/or enterocytes intracellular proteolysis. In week 4, there was a marked increase in amylase activity, change that can be attributed to the beginning of the transitional period known as weaning. The significant increase in circulating concentration of cortisol during week 4 suggests the involvement of corticosteroid as a mediator of pancreatic development at weaning. Changes in blood levels of this hormone are believed to be important in the expression of amylase in the neonatal period. However, T3-T4 blood levels remained unchanged from d 3 to 28, suggesting that, in the kid, these hormones appear to have no clear influence upon the postnatal development of the exocrine pancreas.