Pancreatic acinar cell regeneration following copper deficiency-induced pancreatic necrosis

Nonproliferative and Proliferative Lesions of the Gastrointestinal Tract, Pancreas and Salivary Glands of the Rat and Mouse

The INHAND (International Harmonization of Nomenclature and Diagnostic Criteria for Lesions in Rats and Mice) project is a joint initiative of the Societies of Toxicologic Pathology from Europe (ESTP), Great Britain (BSTP), Japan (JSTP), and North America (STP) to develop an internationally accepted nomenclature and diagnostic criteria for nonproliferative and proliferative lesions in laboratory animals. The purpose of this publication is to provide a standardized nomenclature and diagnostic criteria for classifying lesions in the digestive system including the salivary glands and the exocrine pancreas of laboratory rats and mice. Most lesions are illustrated by color photomicrographs. The standardized nomenclature, the diagnostic criteria, and the photomicrographs are also available electronically on the Internet (http://www.goreni.org/). Sources of material included histopathology databases from government, academia, and industrial laboratories throughout the world. Content includes spontaneous and age related lesions as well as lesions induced by exposure to test items. Relevant infectious and parasitic lesions are included as well. A widely accepted and utilized international harmonization of nomenclature and diagnostic criteria for the digestive system will decrease misunderstandings among regulatory and scientific research organizations in different countries and provide a common language to increase and enrich international exchanges of information among toxicologists and pathologists.

Blood flow in the atrophied pancreas

Pancreatic and islet blood flow was measured by quantitative determination of microspheres within atrophied pancreases of rats rendered dietarily copper-deficient. The deficient state effects selective acinar necrosis and its replacement with non-inflammatory lipomatosis. While blood flow to lipomatous glands remained intact, it was significantly less (0.41 +/- 0.02 ml/min X g pancreas) compared to normal control glands (0.50 +/- 0.01 ml/min X g pancreas). Blood flow to islets, which remain unaffected by selective acinar atrophy of the copper-deficient state, was not significantly altered (50.8 +/- 2.13 microliters/min X g pancreas) compared to controls (55.7 +/- 2.66 microliters/min X g pancreas). The percent of islet blood flow (IBF) within atrophied glands (12.2 +/- 0.31) was found to be significantly greater than control glands (10.7 +/- 0.21). It is suggested that the maintenance of IBF and IBF percentage in the atrophic pancreas may reflect the parallel arrangement of islet angioarchitecture which based on morphological data is not appreciably altered with attenuation of acinar plexuses. Microspheres, although not quantitated, were also found distributed within the adventitia of ducts as well as in vessels supplying intrapancreatic nerves and ganglia which remain intact in copper deficiency-induced acinar atrophy.