title: Expression of galectin-3 in the rat pancreas during regeneration following hormone-induced pancreatitis.
abstract: Supramaximal dosage of the cholecystokinin analog caerulein leads to edematous pancreatitis with subsequent acinar cell destruction predominantly by apoptosis. We have used immunohistochemistry to reveal the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein galectin-3 in pancreatic acinar cells. Galectin-3, which occurs only in duct cells under physiological conditions, is expressed in a subset of acinar cells after the end of a 12-h caerulein infusion, giving rise to a "patchy" staining pattern. During the subsequent period of inflammation and regeneration, galectin-3 expression increases in those acinar cells that undergo apoptosis. By 48 h after the end of caerulein infusion, morphologically normal cells do not contain galectin-3 and participate in regeneration by proliferation. Tubular complexes, being transient structures from degenerative acini, accumulate galectin-3 in the remnants of the epithelium cells. Stimulation with supramaximal dosages of caerulein of the cell line AR4-2J, which is derived from rat pancreatic acinar cells, also results in a marked increase of galectin-3, confirming the in vivo results. We postulate that the high expression of the anti-apoptotic protein galectin-3 regulates the time course of the apoptotic process in pancreatic acinar cells.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zytobiologie und Zytopathologie, Philipps University of Marburg, Robert-Koch-Strasse 6, 35033 Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Anneli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gebhardt
authors.forename: Waltraud
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ackermann
authors.forename: Nadime
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Unver
authors.forename: Hans-Peter
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Elsässer
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002108:Ceruletide / Q000633:toxicity; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004487:Edema / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D037502:Galectin 3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010179:Pancreas / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D010183:Pancreatic Ducts / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012038:Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D037502:Galectin 3; D002108:Ceruletide