Calcium imaging in intact mouse acinar cells in acute pancreas tissue slices.

The physiology and pathophysiology of the exocrine pancreas are in close connection to changes in intra-cellular Ca2+ concentration. Most of our knowledge is based on in vitro experiments on acinar cells or acini enzymatically isolated from their surroundings, which can alter their structure, physiology, and limit our understanding. Due to these limitations, the acute pancreas tissue slice technique was introduced almost two decades ago as a complementary approach to assess the morphology and physiology of both the endocrine and exocrine pancreas in a more conserved in situ setting. In this study, we extend previous work to functional multicellular calcium imaging on acinar cells in tissue slices. The viability and morphological characteristics of acinar cells within the tissue slice were assessed using the LIVE/DEAD assay, transmission electron microscopy, and immunofluorescence imaging. The main aim of our study was to characterize the responses of acinar cells to stimulation with acetylcholine and compare them with responses to cerulein in pancreatic tissue slices, with special emphasis on inter-cellular and inter-acinar heterogeneity and coupling. To this end, calcium imaging was performed employing confocal microscopy during stimulation with a wide range of acetylcholine concentrations and selected concentrations of cerulein. We show that various calcium oscillation parameters depend monotonically on the stimulus concentration and that the activity is rather well synchronized within acini, but not between acini. The acute pancreas tissue slice represents a viable and reliable experimental approach for the evaluation of both intra- and inter-cellular signaling characteristics of acinar cell calcium dynamics. It can be utilized to assess many cells simultaneously with a high spatiotemporal resolution, thus providing an efficient and high-yield platform for future studies of normal acinar cell biology, pathophysiology, and screening pharmacological substances.

Breakdown of bioenergetics evoked by mitochondrial damage in acute pancreatitis: Mechanisms and consequences.

Acute pancreatitis is a severe inflammatory disease with unacceptably high mortality and without specific therapy. Clinical studies revealed that energy supplementation of patients via enteral feeding decreases systemic infections, multi-organ failure and mortality. These clinical observations have been supported by in vitro and in vivo experimental studies which showed that the most common pancreatitis inducing factors, such as bile acids, ethanol and non-oxidative ethanol metabolites induce intracellular ATP depletion and mitochondrial damage both in pancreatic acinar and ductal cells. Notably, the in vitro supplementation of ATP prevented the cellular damage and restored cell functions in both cell types. These observations suggest that either prevention of mitochondrial damage or restoration of intracellular ATP level might provide therapeutical benefits.

New insights into the methodology of L-arginine-induced acute pancreatitis.

Animal models are ideal to study the pathomechanism and therapy of acute pancreatitis (AP). The use of L-arginine-induced AP model is nowadays becoming increasingly popular in mice. However, carefully looking through the literature, marked differences in disease severity could be observed. In fact, while setting up the L-arginine (2×4 g/kg i.p.)-induced AP model in BALB/c mice, we found a relatively low rate (around 15%) of pancreatic necrosis, whereas others have detected much higher rates (up to 55%). We suspected that this may be due to differences between mouse strains. We administered various concentrations (5-30%, pH = 7.4) and doses (2×4, 3×3, or 4×2.5 g/kg) of L-arginine-HCl in BALB/c, FVB/n and C57BL/6 mice. The potential gender-specific effect of L-arginine was investigated in C57BL/6 mice. The fate of mice in response to the i.p. injections of L arginine followed one of three courses. Some mice (1) developed severe AP or (2) remained AP-free by 72 h, whereas others (3) had to be euthanized (to avoid their death, which was caused by the high dose of L-arginine and not AP) within 12 h., In FVB/n and C57BL/6 mice, the pancreatic necrosis rate (about 50%) was significantly higher than that observed in BALB/c mice using 2×4 g/kg 10% L-arginine, but euthanasia was necessary in a large proportion of animals, The i.p. injection of lower L-arginine concentrations (e.g. 5-8%) in case of the 2×4 g/kg dose, or other L-arginine doses (3×3 or 4×2.5 g/kg, 10%) were better for inducing AP. We could not detect any significant differences between the AP severity of male and female mice. Taken together, when setting up the L-arginine-induced AP model, there are several important factors that are worth consideration such as the dose and concentration of the administered L arginine-HCl solution and also the strain of mice.

Recent advances in the investigation of pancreatic inflammation induced by large doses of basic amino acids in rodents.

It has been known for approximately 30 years that large doses of the semi-essential basic amino acid L-arginine induce severe pancreatic inflammation in rats. Recently, it has been demonstrated that L-arginine can also induce pancreatitis in mice. Moreover, other basic amino acids like L-ornithine and L-lysine can cause exocrine pancreatic damage without affecting the endocrine parenchyma and the ducts in rats. The utilization of these noninvasive severe basic amino acid-induced pancreatitis models is becoming increasingly popular and appreciated as these models nicely reproduce most laboratory and morphological features of human pancreatitis. Consequently, the investigation of basic amino acid-induced pancreatitis may offer us a better understanding of the pathogenesis and possible treatment options of the human disease.

The crucial role of early mitochondrial injury in L-lysine-induced acute pancreatitis.

AIMS: Large doses of intraperitoneally injected basic amino acids, L-arginine, or L-ornithine, induce acute pancreatitis in rodents, although the mechanisms mediating pancreatic toxicity remain unknown. Another basic amino acid, L-lysine, was also shown to cause pancreatic acinar cell injury. The aim of the study was to get insight into the mechanisms through which L-lysine damages the rat exocrine pancreas, in particular to characterize the kinetics of L-lysine-induced mitochondrial injury, as well as the pathologic responses (including alteration of antioxidant systems) characteristic of acute pancreatitis. RESULTS: We showed that intraperitoneal administration of 2 g/kg L-lysine induced severe acute necrotizing pancreatitis. L-lysine administration caused early pancreatic mitochondrial damage that preceded the activation of trypsinogen and the proinflammatory transcription factor nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), which are commonly thought to play an important role in the development of acute pancreatitis. Our data demonstrate that L-lysine impairs adenosine triphosphate synthase activity of isolated pancreatic, but not liver, mitochondria. INNOVATION AND CONCLUSION: Taken together, early mitochondrial injury caused by large doses of L-lysine may lead to the development of acute pancreatitis independently of pancreatic trypsinogen and NF-κB activation.

CFTR expression but not Cl- transport is involved in the stimulatory effect of bile acids on apical Cl-/HCO3- exchange activity in human pancreatic duct cells.

OBJECTIVES: Low doses of chenodeoxycholate (CDC) stimulate apical anion exchange and HCO3(-) secretion in guinea pig pancreatic duct cells (Gut. 2008;57:1102-1112). We examined the effects of CDC on intracellular pH (pHi), intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)]i), and apical Cl(-)/HCO3(-) exchange activity in human pancreatic duct cells and determined whether any effects were dependent on cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) expression and Cl(-) channel activity. METHODS: Polarized CFPAC-1 cells (expressing F508del CFTR) were transduced with Sendai virus constructs containing complementary DNAs for either wild-type CFTR or beta-galactosidase. Microfluorimetry was used to record pHi and [Ca(2+)]i and apical Cl(-)/HCO3(-) exchange activity. Patch clamp experiments were performed on isolated guinea pig duct cells. RESULTS: Chenodeoxycholate induced a dose-dependent intracellular acidification and a marked increase in [Ca(2+)]i in CFPAC-1 cells. CFTR expression slightly reduced the rate of acidification but did not affect the [Ca(2+)]i changes. Luminal administration of 0.1 mmol/L of CDC significantly elevated apical Cl(-)/HCO3(-) exchange activity but only in cells that expressed CFTR. However, CDC did not activate CFTR Cl(-) conductance. CONCLUSIONS: Bile salts modulate pHi, [Ca(2+)]i, and apical anion exchange activity in human pancreatic duct cells. The stimulatory effect of CDC on anion exchangers requires CFTR expression but not CFTR channel activity.