Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) inhibits pancreatic acinar cell growth. In many cell types, TGF-beta mediates its growth inhibitory effects by activation of Smad proteins. Recently, it has been reported that Smad proteins may interact with the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase signaling pathways. In this study, we report on the interactions between the TGF-beta and MAP kinase si...

INTRODUCTION Pancreatic panniculitis is a very rare complication of pancreatic cancer, most often accompanying rare acinar cell carcinoma. We herein report a case of pancreatic panniculitis that was associated with pancreatic mucinous adenocarcinoma. PATIENT INFORMATION A 57-year-old male was referred to our hospital for weight loss. A physical examination revealed subcutaneous nodules on his...

A characteristic of acute pancreatitis is the premature activation and retention of enzymes within the pancreatic acinar cell. Because ligands linked to cAMP production may prevent some forms of pancreatitis, we evaluated the effects of increased intracellular cAMP in the rat pancreatic acinar cell. Specifically, this study examined the effects of the cholinergic agonist carbachol and agents th...

Pancreatic progenitor cell research has been in the spotlight, as these cells have the potential to replace pancreatic β-cells for the treatment of type 1 and 2 diabetic patients with the absence or reduction of pancreatic β-cells. During the past few decades, the successful treatment of diabetes through transplantation of the whole pancreas or isolated islets has nearly been achieved. However,...

Recent studies have shown that Wnt/beta-catenin signaling is essential for development of the exocrine pancreas, but the role of beta-catenin-dependent target genes such as Myc during pancreatic development is not well known. Here, we show that tissue-specific deletion of Myc causes a slightly accelerated differentiation of pancreatic epithelial cells into endocrine cells and perturbs the proli...

Embryos of gulf killifish Fundulus grandis were injected with N-methyl-N'-nitro-Nnitrosoguanidine (MNNG). Retention of carcinogen in the egg immediately after injection was highly variable. Hatching percentages of MNNG-injected and uninjected embryos were similar, but survival of MNNG-injected fish during the first week after hatching was less than half of the survival of controls. One of 3 MNN...

A pancreatic acinar cell-mediated mutagenicity assay was developed as an in vitro model system to study the metabolism of N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine (BOP) and N-nitroso(2-hydroxypropyl)(2-oxopropyl)amino (HPOP) into forms mutagenic for Chinese hamster V79 cells. Mutations at the hypoxanthine:guanine phosphoribosyltransferase locus and the Na/K ATPase locus were scored by resistance to 6-thi...

BACKGROUND Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has been proposed to participate in the pathogenesis of pancreatic inflammatory disease. AIMS This study investigated the role of endotoxaemia in the pathogenesis of pancreatic acinar cell injury. METHODS Sixty eight male Spraque-Dawley rats were used in the study. Escherichia coli LPS (5 mg/kg) was injected into the peritoneal cavity of the rat...

Targeting of oncogenic Kras to the pancreatic Nestin-expressing embryonic progenitor cells and subsequently to the adult acinar compartment and Nestin-expressing cells is sufficient for the development of low grade pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) between 2 and 4 months. The mice die around 6 month-old of unrelated causes, and it is therefore not possible to assess whether the lesio...

Background/Aims: The differential diagnosis of pancreatic solid lesions still remains challenging. Recently, contrast-enhanced harmonic endoscopic ultrasound (CE-EUS) has been developed. The aim of this study is to investigate the accuracy of CEEUS in differentiating pancreatic cancer from benign pancreatic lesions by visualizing pancreatic microvasculature. Method: We prospectively evaluated 1...