Enzymic profiles of bovine pancreatic ductal and acinar tissues

Morphologic and biochemical characteristics of isolated and cultured pancreatic ducts

Rat and hamster pancreatic ducts were isolated by digestion with collagenase plus chymotrypsin and were cultured for eight weeks in an agarose matrix. Freshly isolated and cultured ducts were characterized morphologically and biochemically. The in vivo morphology of the ducts was maintained in vitro, although certain differences were noted. Both interlobular and intralobular ducts could be identified. gamma-Glutamyltranspeptidase and Mg-ATPase were stable enzymatic activities of the ducts of both species; alkaline phosphatase persisted only in the hamster ducts. Carbonic anhydrase and (Na + K)ATPase were minor activities of the rat ducts. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the rat ducts suggested that actin was the major duct peptide and that the major zymogens were greatly diminished. These results demonstrate that pancreatic ducts can be maintained in vitro and can be used for biochemical studies of this minor pancreatic tissue type.

Characterization of ducts isolated from the pancreas of the rat

Rat pancreases were minced and treated with collagenase or collagenase supplemented with chymotrypsin to yield a mixture of ducts, islets, acinar cell clusters, blood vessels, and nerves. Histologically and ultrastructurally, the isolated tissues resembled their in situ counterparts in most respects, the major difference being the destruction of the basement membranes (basal laminae). Ducts ranging in size from the common bile/main pancreatic duct to the intercalated ducts were identified in the digest, although interlobular ducts were most frequently observed. Acinar tissue fragments were separated from nonacinar structures either by flotation through discontinuous gradients of Ficoll or by sieving, the latter technique being the more efficient. Common bile/main ducts, interlobular ducts, and blood vessels were selected manually from the nonacinar fractions. Biochemical analyses showed that the entire nonacinar fraction, as well as isolated ducts and blood vessels, contained larger alkaline phosphatase, carbonic anhydrase, and Mg-ATPase specific activities than acinar tissue, whereas acinar tissue contained larger gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase and amylase activities. However, greater than 63% of the total recovered activity of each enzyme was associated with the acinar tissue. Both the association of the majority of each of these enzyme activities with the acinar tissue and the similarity in specific activities associated with ducts and blood vessels indicate that none of the enzymes tested is a unique marker for interlobular and larger ducts of the pancreas of the rat.