An in Vitro Study of Pancreatic Ductal Cells 1

Abstract

Summary

Although pancreatic duct cells have been characterized morphologically and histochemically, information on their biochemistry and mechanism is lacking. The aim of the present work was to study selected metabolic parameters in the pancreatic duct of fed and fasted rats. The intact duct was quickly isolated by dissection and opened longitudinally. Twelve ducts were pooled for each study. Fasting for 72 hr was associated with decreases in [¹⁴C]glucose oxidation to ¹⁴CO₂ and alkaline phosphatase activity. There were no changes with fasting in the following parameters: protein, RNA, or DNA content; ¹⁴Clabeled amino acid incorporation into proteins; [¹⁴C]glucose or [¹⁴C]glucosamine incorporation into g1ycoproteins; Mg²⁺-ATP-ase, HCO₃ -ATPase, 5′-nucleotidase, or leucine aminopeptidase activities. In contrast to acinar cells, duct cells did not actively synthesize proteins. This study points out that pancreatic duct cells are metabolically active and that fasting was associated with reductions in glucose oxidation and alkaline phosphatase activity. Whether these metabolic activities are under the control of gastrointestinal hormones remains to be determined. Moreover, the significance of the reduction in alkaline phosphatase activity with fasting is not known.