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The authors have studied the effects of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on the plasma alpha-amylase activity in mice that sustained a pancreatic injury induced by an oral administration of adenine. In mice given a 5% solution of DMSO as drinking water for 3 d prior to the administration of adenine (175 mg/kg), and also drank this DMSO solution until the end of the experiment, hyperemia of the pancreas was observed and the level of plasma alpha-amylase activity became significantly higher than the level seen in the control mice. A pathological examination also revealed vacuolation and zymogenic degranulation. Further, the plasma alpha-amylase activity level increased only in mice given this 5% DMSO solution, and no increase was noted in mice given a 3% or a 1% DMSO solution for drinking water. Further, the pancreatic lipid peroxide level of mice given this 5% DMSO solution was significantly higher than the level seen in the control group. Based on the above results and associated data, it is thought that an oral administration of adenine can induce a pancreatic injury in the mouse, and that this injury is sustained with the assistance of DMSO.

Arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase has been found so far in various types of leukocyte. When a homogenate of porcine pancreas was incubated with arachidonic acid, 5-hydroxy-6,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid was predominantly produced concomitant with small amounts of compounds derived from leukotriene A4. After differential centrifugation of the homogenate, the 5-lipoxygenase activity was found predominantly in the 1000 x g pellet and 105,000 x g supernatant. When porcine pancreas was investigated immunohistochemically with anti-5-lipoxygenase antibody, Langerhans islets were unstained, and infiltration of 5-lipoxygenase-positive leukocytes was hardly observed. In contrast, acinar cells were positively stained. Immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated the localization of the enzyme along the nuclear membranes of the acinar cells.