PANCREATIC AND ISLET BLOOD-FLOW IN THE REGENERATING PANCREAS AFTER A PARTIAL PANCREATECTOMY IN ADULT-RATS

  • 1 November 1989
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 106  (5) , 861-866
Abstract
A 60% partial pancreatectomy or a sham operation was performed in adult, male Sprague-Dawley rats. Measurements of pancreatic blood flow (PBF) and islet blood flow (IBF) were achieved by a microsphere technique either before surgery or 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 weeks after the operation. An intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (2 gm glucose/kg body weight) was made 2 days before the blood flow measurements. There were no aberrations in glucose homeostasis at any time point after the partial pancreatectomy. The sham-operated animals had both PBF and IBF values similar to those of nonoperated animals at all time points. The rats that underwent partial pancreatectomy, however, showed significantly increased PBF values 2 and 4 weeks after surgery but values similar to those of the sham-operated rats 1, 8, and 16 weeks after surgery. The IBF values of the animals that underwent pancreatectomy were significantly increased from week 2 onward when expressed per gram of pancreas and from week 4 onward when expressed as a fraction of PBF. Compared with the sham-operated animals, the total blood perfusion of the islet organs was increased in the rats that underwent partial pancreatectomy despite a reduction in total pancreatic mass. It is concluded that a partial pancreatectomy induces both a transient increase in PBF and a more long-lasting increase in IBF. It is conceivable that these observations reflect the regeneration of exocrine and endocrine cells, and an increased functional load on these tissues.