Quantitative Estimation of the Collagen Content in Normal and Pathologic Pancreas Tissue

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The aims of the study were to measure the collagen content in pancreas using a colorimetric method and to compare the amount of collagen in normal pancreas (11 cases), diffuse fibrosing pancreatitis (17 cases), and chronic calcifying pancreatitis (11 cases). The procedure of fibrosis measurement was based on the selective capacity of two dyes, Sirius red and fast green, to set on collagen and noncoUagenous proteins, respectively. After staining of sections, colors were eluted from the sections and the specific absorbance of each eluted dye was read on a spectrophotometer. The collagen content in normal pancreata was 26.5 ± 7.2 μg collagen/mg protein. The amount of collagen increased with the age of patients: the mean value of the patients under the age of 50 was 18.2 ± 4 μg collagen/mg protein whereas the mean value in older patients was 31.9 ± 8 μg collagen/mg protein (p < 0.01). The value of collagen in pancreas with a diffuse fibrosing pancreatitis was 44.7 ± 7.5 μg collagen/mg protein. This value was significantly different from the collagen content in normal pancreas (p < 0.001) and in pancreas with a chronic calcifying pancreatitis (77.9 ± 8 μg collagen/mg protein, p < 0.001). This method permits discrimination between different chronic diseases that can also be differentiated on a histopathologic basis.