Induction of acute and chronic pancreatitis with the use of the toxin of the scorpion Tityus serrulatus: experimental model in rats

We observed that the purified venom of the Tityus serrulatus scorpion (T1 fraction), injected IV in rats, in a single dose of 0,5 mg/kg, produces: acute pancreatitis, characterized by degranulation and acinar cell vacuolization, necrosis and an inflammatory reaction, 24, 48 and 96 hours after the injection; chronic pancreatitis, characterized by interstitial fibrosis, lymphocyte infiltration, ductal and ductular dilation, acinar cell atrophy, periductal ductular hyperplasia, 20 days after injection; hyperplasia of Langerhans' islets and nesidioblastosis, associated to chronic pancreatitis. The absence of deaths in the experimental group is an intersting finding: the dose used preserved the animals from death and allowed the safe follow-up ot the progression of the provoked pancreatitis. The results led us to conclude that the toxin of Tityus serrulatus scorpion is an agent of considerable efficacy in the induction of pancreatitis in rats providing an experimental model of acute and chronic form of this disease.

Experimental chronic interstitial pancreatitis induced by scorpion toxin in rats

Os efeitos do veneno de escorpiäo no trato gastrointestinal foram investigados no homem e em animais de experimentaçäo. O fluxo pancreático e o conteúdo enzimáticos säo aumentados por TsTX, o veneno purificado do escorpiäo Tityus serrulatus. Neste estudo, ratos machos receberam dose única intravenosa de TsTX. Eles foram sacrificados 20 dias após e o pâncreas foi removido. Estudos histopatológicos mostraram fibrose intersticial, infiltrado mononuclear, atrofia acinar e dilataçäo ductular. Também foram vistos, se bem que menos freqüentemente, infiltrado eosinofílico, hiperplasia ductular e densa secreçäo eosinofílica em ductos alargados. Todas as lesöes eram multifocais. Hiperplasia de ilhotas e nesidioblastose também foram observadas