Scanning electron microscope examination of pancreatic ducts in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP)

Summary Conclusion Ischemic injury to the pancreatic ductal cells causes stasis of pancreatic juice, which in turn induces chronic pancreatitis. Background The pathogenesis of chronic ischemic pancreatitis is still unclear. Methods In 12-, 24-, and 36-wk-old, male stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP), which have sclerotic arterioles with a marked narrowing lumen in the pancreas, pancreatic tissue was examined using light and scanning electron microscopy. Corrosion casts of pancreatic ducts and blood vessels were examined using scanning electron microscopy. Results Ductular proliferation, tortuous ductal channels, crater-like depressions of ductal inner surfaces, and long cilia of ductal cells were found to be sporadically distributed throughout the pancreatic tissue. Similar pancreatic abnormalities had been found in previous studies using WBN/Kob rats that exhibited pancreatic juice stasis. A few interlobular ducts in the pancreatic tissue of the SHRSP had an inner surface that was gyrus-like in appearance, a feature not found in WBN/Kob rats.