Abstract
In order to characterize the response of the pancreas to malnutrition during the critical neonatal growth phase, acquired postnatal malnutrtion was induced in the rat by using the expanded litter. An experimental nursing litter of 16 rats and control litters of 7-8 rats were formed. At 19 days of age, pups were sacrificed, the pancreas resected, weighed and prepared. Mean pancreatic weight was decreased in malnourished rats to a greater extent (49% vs 60%) than the decrease in total body weight. Decreased organ weight was due mostly to a decrease in DNA content and in cell number, with a small but significant decrease in cell size.
Enzyme activities expressed per total organ were all diminished; trypsin (T), carboxypeptidase A (CPA) and B (CPB), and amylase (A) to an intermediate extent; and chymotrypsin(CH), the least. Specific activities of the enzymes and total organ activities were decreased in a non-parallel fashion. Specific activities of lipase (L) and trypsin (T) were decreased (p<.05) lipase the most severely; the remaining enzymes were resistent to change. This can be explained by either a selective effect of malnutrition on a critical development period for lipase and trypsin, or that lipase, in general, is more vulnerable to insult.
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Hatch, T., Branski, D., Krasner, J. et al. 432 THE EFFECT OF ACQUIRED POSTNATAL MALNUTRITION ON PANCREATIC ENZYMES IN THE RAT. Pediatr Res 12 (Suppl 4), 435 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00437
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00437
