Expression of galectin-3 in the rat pancreas during regeneration following hormone-induced pancreatitis.
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.
Gebhardt
Anneli
A
Institut für Zytobiologie und Zytopathologie, Philipps University of Marburg, Robert-Koch-Strasse 6, 35033 Marburg, Germany.
Ackermann
Waltraud
W
Unver
Nadime
N
Elsässer
Hans-Peter
HP
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
D037502:Galectin 3; D002108:Ceruletide