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Pancreatic cancer is associated with a pronounced fibrotic reaction that was recently shown to limit delivery of chemotherapy. To identify potential therapeutic targets to overcome this fibrosis, we examined the interplay between fibrosis and the key proteinase membrane type 1-matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP, MMP-14), which is required for growth and invasion in the collagen-rich microenvironment. In this article, we show that compared with control mice (Kras(+)/MT1-MMP(-)) that express an activating Kras(G12D) mutation necessary for pancreatic cancer development, littermate mice that express both MT1-MMP and Kras(G12D) (Kras(+)/MT1-MMP(+)) developed a greater number of large, dysplastic mucin-containing papillary lesions. These lesions were associated with a significant amount of surrounding fibrosis, increased α-smooth muscle actin (+) cells in the stroma, indicative of activated myofibroblasts, and increased Smad2 phosphorylation. To further understand how MT1-MMP promotes fibrosis, we established an in vitro model to examine the effect of expressing MT1-MMP in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells on stellate cell collagen deposition. Conditioned media from MT1-MMP-expressing PDAC cells grown in three-dimensional collagen enhanced Smad2 nuclear translocation, promoted Smad2 phosphorylation, and increased collagen production by stellate cells. Inhibiting the activity or expression of the TGF-β type I receptor in stellate cells attenuated MT1-MMP conditioned medium-induced collagen expression by stellate cells. In addition, a function-blocking anti-TGF-β antibody also inhibited MT1-MMP conditioned medium-induced collagen expression in stellate cells. Overall, we show that the bona fide collagenase MT1-MMP paradoxically contributes to fibrosis by increasing TGF-β signaling and that targeting MT1-MMP may thus help to mitigate fibrosis.

Conclusion: The morphological and quantitative findings of the present study suggest that atypical acinar cell foci are not neoplastic in nature., Background: Atypical acinar cell foci (AACF) are rare and unusual lesions in the human pancreas. The biological nature of AACF is poorly understood, and is not clear whether they represent neoplastic or degenerative changes in the acinar cells., Methods: To further characterize and understand the significance of AACF in relation to acinar cell tumor development, we have examined these lesions by light and electron microscopy and evaluated the growth pattern by measuring cell proliferation and the size of the foci in the pancreas of a 16-yr-old male., Results: The pancreas was grossly unremarkable. AACF were randomly distributed throughout the pancreas, well delineated, and showed minimal variation in sizes. The constituent cells contained uniform nuclei, pale vacuolated cytoplasm, and exhibited low nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio. Electron microscopic examination showed a few zymogen granules and markedly dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum. Proliferative index in AACF (13%) was less than in adjacent uninvolved acinar tissue (19%). Quantitative stereological analysis showed the pancreas to contain approximately 1800 AACF/cm3 with a mean focal diameter of 360 microns.

Hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) is a pleiotropic effector for cells expressing the Met tyrosine kinase receptor. In this investigation, we show that pancreatic oval cells express Met and exhibit a proliferative response to HGF/SF. Additionally, we found that oval cells treated transiently with this factor become "scattered," whereas those exposed to HGF/ SF for extended periods of time form branching tubular structures. These structures possess true lumens, which are lined by cells with ductal features, including apical microvilli, well-developed intercellular junctions, interdigitation of plasma membranes, and abundant cytoplasmic organelles. Interestingly, these ductal structures are formed by HGF/SF-treated cells cultured on plastic dishes in the absence of exogenous extracellular matrix components. Consistent with their ability to form ductal structures in vitro, we found that pancreatic oval cells form ductal adenocarcinomas in nude mice. This study supports the involvement of HGF/SF-Met signaling in the growth, migration, and morphogenesis of pancreatic oval cells and may have important implications for the expansion and morphogenic differentiation of these cells during developmental, regenerative, and neoplastic growth.

Multiple foci of morphologically and functionally differentiated hepatocytes are induced in the pancreas of adult rats subjected to a copper depletion-repletion regimen. Differentiation of hepatocytes in pancreas is preceded by irreversible depletion of over 90% of pancreatic acinar cells. Progressive acinar cell loss during 4-6 weeks of copper deficiency results in the proliferation of oval cells, some of which may serve as the hepatocyte precursor or stem cells. Albumin mRNA is detected in oval cells at 5 and 6 weeks by in situ hybridization at which time no morphologically identifiable hepatocytes are evident in the pancreas. Immunocytochemical analysis demonstrated the presence of stem cell factor (SCF) in proliferating oval cells during 6 weeks of copper depletion, and Northern blot analysis revealed the expression of liver-enriched transcription factors in the rat pancreas during this 4-6-week period of copper deficiency. CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha (C/EBP alpha) mRNA was detected first at 4 weeks of copper deficiency. By 5 and 6 weeks of copper deficiency, the expression of mRNAs of C/EBP alpha, beta, and delta, and hepatocyte nuclear factor-3 factor (HNF-3 beta) was markedly enhanced. This enhanced expression of liver-enriched transcription factors and the SCF during oval cell proliferation in the pancreas preceding the expression of albumin mRNA and subsequent differentiation of hepatocyte phenotype further supports the identity of these oval cells as hepatocyte precursors or stem cells.

The differentiated state of specialized cells appears to be dependent on interactions between the extracellular microenvironment, cytoplasmic signals and DNA. Perturbations in these interactions lead to phenotypic alterations of the cell--referred to as transdifferentiation. Copper deficiency in rats leads to global acinar cell loss due to apoptosis possibly leading to perturbations in cell-cell interactions and the microenvironment. Acinar cell loss is associated with the proliferation of ductular epithelial and oval cells. Massive depletion of the acinar cell pool creates severe expansion pressure on oval and ductular cells to fill the vacuity. This probably causes a change in the commitment of these cells resulting in transdifferentiation into hepatocytes. Pancreatic hepatocytes exhibit all the morphological and functional properties of liver parenchymal cells.

Recent morphological studies from our laboratory have shown that copper deficiency-induced pancreatic involution in rats is secondary to apoptosis (M. S. Rao, A. V. Yeldandi, V. Subbarao, and J. K. Reddy, 1993, Am. J. Pathol. 142, 1952-1957). To corroborate the morphological findings, we have examined pancreases from copper-deficient rats for expression of sulfated glycoprotein-2 (SGP-2) mRNA and DNA fragmentation, which are considered as specific markers of apoptosis. Agarose gel electrophoresis of the DNA extracted from pancreases of rats maintained on copper deficient diet (CUDD) for 5 and 7 weeks showed characteristic "ladder" pattern, whereas DNA from control rats and rats maintained on CUDD for 3 weeks showed no fragmentation. These findings correlated well with the histological changes. Northern blot analysis of total RNA revealed a marked increase in the expression of SGP-2 mRNA at 5 weeks followed by a gradual decrease at 6 and 7 weeks. These results further support that the mechanism of copper deficiency-induced pancreatic involution is through apoptosis.

In the rat pancreas oval cells were shown to contain albumin transcripts and are considered to be precursors of pancreatic hepatocytes. Pancreatic oval cells have been maintained in our laboratory as a cell line. In the present study we have examined the differentiation potential of rat pancreatic epithelial oval cells under different culture conditions using light and electron microscopy and in situ hybridization techniques. Oval cells cultured on collagen gels formed a monolayer. However, when oval cells were embedded in collagen gels and cultured with or without fibroblasts, they readily organized into duct-like structures within 1 week. Over the next 3 weeks there was a gradual increase in the number and size of ductules. Morphological examination of duct-like structures showed true lumen formation. Ultrastructurally, cells showed features of ductal cells characterized by well-formed cell junctions, interdigitation of plasma membranes, well-developed cytoplasmic organelles, and apical microvilli. Light microscopic autoradiography showed proliferation of cells lining the ductules throughout the 4-week culture period. Albumin mRNA expression was demonstrable by in situ hybridization with albumin probe in oval cells cultured on collagen gels and embedded in collagen gels. Results of these studies indicate that under these in vitro conditions, oval cells appear to express albumin transcripts but exhibit duct-like morphogenetic features.

In this study, acute and chronic responses of pancreatic hepatocytes induced in F-344 rats by copper depletion-repletion protocol to certain hepatocarcinogens were examined. Administration of a single dose of tannic acid (subcutaneous), aflatoxin B1 (gavage), or lasiocarpine (intraperitoneally) caused characteristic nucleolar segregation in parenchymal cells of liver as well as in pancreatic hepatocytes. Chronic dietary administration of 2-acetylaminofluorene (0.025%) for 12 to 32 weeks led to the development of glutathione S-transferase-P-positive pancreatic hepatocytes in the pancreas. In addition, oval cell proliferation was observed in close association with pancreatic hepatocytes, but not in other areas of pancreas containing residual acinar cells. Oval cells in the pancreas and in the liver that developed in rats after chronic 2-acetylaminofluorene treatment and pancreatic duct cells stained positively with rat liver oval cell marker OV-6 antibodies by immunoperoxidase. These findings indicate that pancreatic hepatocytes respond to carcinogens in a fashion similar to parenchymal cells of liver.

Multiple foci of hepatocytes differentiate in the pancreas of adult rats subjected to a copper depletion-repletion regimen. Copper deficiency for seven to nine weeks causes an irreversible depletion of over 80% of the acinar cells in the pancreas. When transferred to a normal diet, these rats exhibit only a minimal and spotty acinar cell recovery. This disruption of tissue organization appears to trigger a profound change in cellular commitment, which leads to hepatocyte differentiation in the "oval cells" in the periductal interstitium and the epithelial cells lining the small pancreatic ductules. Pancreatic hepatocytes express several liver-specific genes including albumin, a2u-globulin, carbamoylphosphate synthetase-I, and urate oxidase. Both carbamoylphosphate synthetase-I and glutamine synthetase, the ammonia-metabolizing enzymes, are expressed by all pancreatic hepatocytes; in liver, these are expressed by different populations of hepatocytes. The magnitude of hepatocyte differentiation in this model should facilitate studies on the molecular events regulating changes in cell lineage or differentiation commitment within the pancreas.

A combination of Western blotting, Northern blotting and immunofluorescence was used to examine the expression and compartmentalization of plasma membrane proteins by those hepatocyte-like cells that arise in the pancreases of rats subjected to sequential dietary copper depletion and repletion. The pancreatic hepatocytes were found to: (1) express several integral membrane proteins known to be concentrated within the apical, lateral or basolateral domains of the plasma membranes of hepatocytes in liver; and (2) compartmentalize the membrane proteins to equivalent plasma membrane domains, despite the organization of these cells into clusters instead of highly vascularized plates. The apical plasma membrane proteins dipeptidylpeptidase IV and HA 4 were found to line bile canaliculus-like openings between adjacent pancreatic hepatocytes; these openings were shown to be continuous with the pancreatic exocrine duct by India ink infusion. In contrast, the basolateral plasma membrane protein rat hepatic lectin-1 and lateral plasma membrane protein HA 321 were detected elsewhere about the surfaces of the pancreatic hepatocytes: by analogy to their respective localizations on hepatocytes in liver, rat hepatic lectin-1 was concentrated on those surfaces exposed to the pancreatic matrix at the periphery of the hepatocyte clusters (the basal surface equivalent), whereas HA 321 was concentrated on those surfaces exposed to adjacent hepatocytes within the clusters. The hepatocyte plasma membrane proteins were found to be expressed in the pancreas at different times during the copper depletion/repletion protocol: for example, rat hepatic lectin-1 and the bulk of the HA 4 were expressed relatively late in the protocol, only after large numbers of pancreatic hepatocytes had appeared; whereas dipeptidylpeptidase IV was induced greater than 10-fold early in the protocol and proved to be an apical-specific marker for those ductular epithelial cells that are believed to be the progenitors of the pancreatic hepatocytes.

In the mammalian liver the distribution of ammonia-detoxifying enzymes, glutamine synthetase (GS) and carbamoylphosphate synthase I (ammonia) (CPS-I), is mutually exclusive in that these enzymes are expressed in two distinct populations of hepatocytes that are zonally demarcated in the liver acinus. In the present study we examined the distribution of GS and CPS-I in pancreatic hepatocytes to ascertain if the expression of these two genes in these hepatocytes is also mutually exclusive. Multiple foci of hepatocytes showing no clear acinar organization develop in the adult rat pancreas as a result of a change in the differentiation commitment after dietary copper deficiency. Unlike liver, GS and CPS-I are detected by immunofluorescence in all pancreatic hepatocytes. In situ hybridization revealed that all pancreatic hepatocytes contain GS and CPS-I mRNAs. The sizes of these two mRNAs in pancreas with hepatocytes are similar to those of the liver. The concomitant expression of GS and CPS-I genes in pancreatic hepatocytes may be attributed, in part, to the absence of portal blood supply to the pancreas vis-à-vis the lack of hormonal/metabolic gradients as well as to possible matrix homogeneity in the pancreas.

Under a copper-deficient regimen, pancreatic cells in the adult rat can be found to undergo differentiation into hepatocytes. Pancreatic hepatocytes induced in male and female rats were examined for the expression of the androgen-inducible hepatic protein, alpha 2u-globulin. Alpha 2u-Globulin protein was demonstrable by immunoperoxidase method in all the pancreatic hepatocytes of male rats. Northern blot analysis confirmed the presence of 1.3 kb alpha 2u-globulin mRNA transcript in the pancreas of male rats with hepatocytes. Orchiectomy resulted in marked decrease of alpha 2u-globulin protein and its mRNA. Administration of dihydrotestosterone to castrated rats resulted in increased levels of alpha 2u-globulin mRNA and the amount of alpha 2u-globulin protein in the pancreatic hepatocytes. Unlike normal males, in intact and ovariectomized females alpha 2u-globulin was not detectable in pancreatic hepatocytes. These results indicate that similar to hepatic parenchymal cells pancreatic hepatocytes synthesize alpha 2u-globulin under androgenic regulation. Furthermore, unlike in liver where it is expressed predominantly in perivenular and midlobular hepatocytes, there is no localized difference in the expression of this gene in the transdifferentiated pancreatic hepatocytes.

Fully differentiated and functionally specialized acinar cells of the rat pancreas are versatile and adaptable. Acinar cells can be stimulated to divide following administration of a mitogen or after inducing acinar cell necrosis. The degree of compensatory hyperplasia is dependent upon the extent of acinar cell necrosis. Type I injury (subtotal acinar cell necrosis) is followed by marked proliferation of acinar cells leading to complete restitution of the pancreas, whereas subsequent to type II injury (global acinar cell necrosis) there is no restitution of the pancreas because of lack of enough viable cells that have served as precursor cells. Associated with type Ii injury there is proliferation of ductular and periductular cells followed by the development of hepatocytes. In addition, during adverse conditions acinar cells undergo dedifferentiation and form pseudoductular structures. In rats, acinar tissue is a prime target for carcinogens. Transformed acinar cells form foci which are morphologically classified as acidophilic and basophilic lesions. Acidophilic foci which show increased cell proliferation progress to form nodules and acinar cell carcinomas.

Administration of N-nitrosobis (2-oxopropyl)amine during peak DNA synthesis of regenerating pancreas in hamsters has been shown to induce hepatocytelike cells in pancreas. We now present evidence to demonstrate that such cells respond to methyl clofenapate, a peroxisome proliferator. The response includes a marked proliferation of peroxisomes and enhanced activity of peroxisomal enzymes enoyl-CoA hydratase (8.5- to 13-fold), [1-14C]-palmitoyl-CoA oxidation (2.8- to 3.9-fold), catalase (1.6 to 3.4-fold), and carnitine acetyltransferase (greater than 2,000-fold). Cytochemical localization of catalase by the alkaline 3,3'-diaminobenzidine procedure and immunofluorescence localization of heat-labile enoyl-CoA hydratase showed that these peroxisome-associated enzymes are localized strictly in pancreatic hepatocytelike cells, while adjacent acinar, duct, and islet cells appeared consistently negative. Morphometric analyses of hepatocytelike cells showed a significant increase in the numerical density and an eightfold increase in the volume density of peroxisomes in methyl clofenapate treated animals. These results demonstrate that the hepatocytelike cells are responsible for the observed peroxisomal enzyme activity in pancreas of hamsters and suggest that the derepressed peroxisome specific genes in these cells respond to a peroxisome proliferator as do parenchymal cells in hamster liver.

A single intravenous injection of 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline-1-oxide in male Wistar rats at a dose of 6 mg. per kg. of body weight induced atypical acinar cell foci in 100 per cent of the animals. Atypical acinar cell foci could be classified histologically as basophilic and acidophilic foci and acidophilic nodules. Cells in baseophilic foci were large, contained an irregular nucleus and a markedly basophilic cytoplasm with a few to small number of zymogen granules (zymogen-poor cells). By transmission electron microscopy, these cells showed markedly irregular plasma membranes, a well-developed rough endoplasmic reticulum and a few zymogen granules. Cells in acidophilic foci and nodules contained an intensely eosinophilic granular cytoplasm (zymogen-rich cells) and a large oval to round nucleus. By transmission electron microscopy, the cells showed zymogen-rich cytoplasm and irregular lateral plasma membranes. Mitotic activity was completely absent or very rarely observed in normal pancreas or basophilic foci, in contrast to acidophilic foci and nodules in which a mean value of 2.75 +/- 1.27 per 1000 cells was found. Autoradiography confirmed these differences between the proliferative capacity of cells in basophilic foci (1 +/- 1 labeled nuclei per 1000 cells) and acidophilic foci (23.2 +/- 3.15 labeled nuclei per 100 cells). These studies indicate that 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline-1-oxide induces two types of atypical acinar cell foci with different morphologic features and proliferative capacity.

The rates of [35S]sulfate incorporation in highly differentiated acinar cells from normal pancreas, moderately differentiated cells of nafenopin-induced transplantable pancreatic carcinoma, and poorly differentiated cells from azaserine-induced transplantable pancreatic carcinoma were examined in an attempt to determine if sulfation is a property of acinar cells with well-developed secretory granules. The cells were dissociated, pulsed with [35S]sulfate (specific activity, approximately 1000 Ci/mmol) for 10 and 60 min, and chased with medium containing 100 X excess of cold inorganic sulfate for 0, 15, 60, and 120 min. The cells were then processed for determining their pool size and light and electron microscopic autoradiography. No significant differences among their pool sizes were observed. However, the light microscopic autoradiograms revealed the [35S]sulfate incorporation as follows: azaserine-induced transplantable pancreatic carcinoma greater than nafenopin-induced transplantable pancreatic carcinoma greater than normal pancreas. Electron microscopic autoradiograms revealed similar trends. The grain densities (concentration of radiation) were highest in the Golgi regions immediately postpulse (0 min) and gradually shifted toward the secretory granules over a 120-min period. In addition, the grain density values of the secretory granule-rich cells of nafenopin-induced transplantable pancreatic carcinoma were relatively similar to the cells of normal pancreas, whereas the grain density values of secretory granule-deficient cells from this tumor were similar to those of poorly differentiated neoplastic cells of azaserine-induced transplantable pancreatic carcinoma. These results show that poorly differentiated neoplastic cells incorporate more [35S]sulfate than do the well-differentiated cells, but the reasons for this unexpected differential incorporation are at present unknown.

Regenerating pancreatic cells of the Syrian hamster treated at the peak of S phase with the pancreatic carcinogen N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine (BOP) are converted into stable cells wtih morphologic and functional characteristics that are strikingly similar to those of differentiated hepatocytes. In this article the authors further document their hepatocytelike nature. Seventy-two hours after subtotal hepatectomy, pancreatic hepatocytelike cells responded with an 8-fold increase in labeled nuclei (105.8 +/- 4.04/1000 cells) which had incorporated 3H-thymidine and a 5-fold increased mitotic index (3.8 +/- 1.5 mitoses/1000 cells), as compared with similar cells in the pancreas of control animals that had undergone sham operations. Chronic administration of phenobarbital induced a 31-fold increase in the level of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) in pancreas containing such cells, as compared with normal control pancreases, and caused marked proliferation of smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER). These cells also showed an enhanced capacity for the accumulation of iron during acute iron excess, as compared with adjacent acinar cells. Collectively, these findings support the view that carcinogen-induced cells in pancreas bear a close functional resemblance to hepatocytes.

2-[4(2,2- Dichlorocyclopropyl )phenoxy]2-methyl propionic acid (ciprofibrate), a peroxisome proliferator , induced hepatocytes in the pancreas of adult male F-344 rats when added to their diet at a dosage of 10 mg/kg body weight for 60-72 wk. These cells are morphologically indistinguishable from hepatic hepatocytes and were usually localized adjacent to islets of Langerhans with extensions into surrounding acinar tissue. A significant increase in the volume density of peroxisomes, together with immunochemically detectable amounts of two peroxisome-associated enzymes, was observed in pancreas with hepatocytes of rats maintained on ciprofibrate. Uricase-containing crystalloid nucleoids, specific for rat hepatocyte peroxisomes, were present in pancreatic hepatocytes. These structures facilitated the identification of cells with hybrid cytoplasmic features characteristic of pancreatic acinar and endocrine cells and hepatocytes. Such cells are presumed to represent a transitional state in which pancreas specific genes are being repressed while liver specific ones are simultaneously expressed. The presence of exocrine and/or endocrine secretory granules in transitional cells indicates that acinar/intermediate cells represent the precursor cell from which pancreatic hepatocytes are derived.

Pancreatic hepatocytes are induced in rats maintained on copper-deficient diet containing 0.6% D-penicillamine for 8-10 weeks, followed by copper repletion. These induced hepatocytes are morphologically and functionally very similar to parenchymal cells of the liver. Immunofluorescence stains demonstrated the presence of albumin and catalase in these cells. Stains for pancreatic enzymes and hormones were negative. As expected, the hypolipidemic compound, ciprofibrate, induced peroxisome proliferation in these cells. These results indicate that a simple depletion and repletion of copper can trigger transdifferentiation in the pancreas of adult rats.

Hepatocytes are induced in the pancreas of rats maintained first on a copper-deficient diet for 8 weeks and then on normal rat chow. These cells are morphologically identical to parenchymal cells of the liver. These hepatocytes contain two liver-specific proteins: carbamyl phosphate synthetase I, a mitochondrial matrix protein that participates in the conversion of ammonia to carbamyl phosphate; and urate oxidase, an enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of uric acid to allantoin. In addition, we also present evidence indicating that dietary administration of ciprofibrate induces peroxisomal beta-oxidation pathway enzymes, while the levels of catalase are unaltered in pancreatic hepatocytes. These observations along with the previously published results further establish the identity of pancreatic hepatocytes to parenchymal cells of liver and clearly indicate that transdifferentiation of pancreatic cells to hepatocytes is associated with activation of several liver-specific genes.

Pancreatic-type tissue induced in the livers of rats treated with polychlorinated biphenyls was characterized by transmission electron microscopy and high-resolution immunocytochemistry. The cells of pancreatic-type tissue were arranged as acini and in small groups. By electron microscopy the pancreatic-type tissue showed features very similar to normal pancreatic acinar tissue, such as well developed rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), large numbers of mature zymogen granules, and a basally located nucleus. Protein A-gold imunocytochemical technique showed localization of amylase and trypsinogen over the zymogen granules and RER. These findings confirm that this tissue in the liver is morphologically and functionally identical to pancreatic acinar tissue.

Transdifferentiation is a process in which one differentiated cell type is converted to another. A unique example of transdifferentiation is the development of hepatocytes from pancreatic cells in adult hamsters and rats. In this communication we report the induction of pancreatic hepatocytes in hamsters that were given 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Two or 6 intraperitoneal (ip) injections of TCDD at a dose of 100 micrograms/kg body weight at 4-wk intervals induced pancreatic hepatocytes in 75% and 89% of the animals respectively. In animals given only two doses of TCDD each pancreas contained one to two hepatic foci, whereas when six injections were administered multiple hepatic foci were observed. By hematoxylin and eosin stain and by periodic acid Schiff stain, the pancreatic hepatocytes were morphologically identical to those in normal liver. Although the exact mechanism by which TCDD induces the transformation is not clear, it is conceivable that TCDD acting through receptor-mediated mechanisms is activating the repressed liver-specific genes in the pancreas.

3H-thymidine autoradiography showed an enhanced DNA synthesis in acinar and islet cells of pancreas after partial hepatectomy in syrian golden hamsters. A significant nuclear labeling index of acinar cells was observed between 48 and 84 h and reached control levels by 120 h. An increased labeling index of islet cells was also observed, however, this increase was not statistically significant. These results indicate growth factor(s) produced after partial hepatectomy is capable of inducing DNA synthesis in pancreas.

Rats maintained on a diet deficient in copper for up to 8-10 weeks exhibit marked necrosis and depletion of acinar cells in the pancreas. When these animals are subsequently fed a copper-supplemented diet, foci of hepatocyte differentiation emerge by about 12 weeks. The present study deals with pancreatic changes during copper depletion and determines the extent of regenerative capacity of the pancreas during the early phases of copper supplementation. During the period of copper depletion, the pancreas gradually decreased in size, and by eight weeks of deficiency weighed approx. 30% as much as the control pancreas. Light-microscopic examination showed focal necrosis of acinar cells at 4 weeks, loss of lobular architecture by six weeks and loss of 85-90% of acinar tissue by eight weeks. Regeneration of the pancreas was initiated by feeding copper-supplemented diet at the end of eight weeks of copper deficiency. The wet weight of the pancreas increased gradually, and by 17 days it weighed 50% more than on the first day of regeneration. Mitotic activity was observed mainly in the acinar cells, beginning at 24 h and reaching a maximum of 19 +/- 1/1000 acinar cells at 72 h, and decreasing steadily thereafter. [3H]Thymidine autoradiography showed a labeling index of 51 +/- 1.7/1000 acinar cell nuclei at 24 h, reaching a peak value of 261 +/- 5.5/1000 acinar cells at 96 h. By 17 days, pancreatic regeneration was only partially complete; however, the proliferative activity was still persistent, albeit at a slower pace. Morphometric analysis of the pancreas on the 17th day of regeneration showed that acinar tissue occupied only 37% of the volume, as compared to 84% in the normal pancreas. These studies clearly demonstrate that acinar tissue of the pancreas following copper deficiency is capable of regeneration, but that the recovery of the pancreas is only partial. Additional studies are necessary to establish the role of this early acinar cell regeneration in pancreatic hepatocyte differentiation.

A single dose of N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine, a carcinogen for hamster pancreas, was administered to hamsters with regenerating pancreas 60 hours after initiation of regeneration when the maximum number of acinar cells are in S phase of the cell cycle. This led to nucleolar segregation and mitotic abnormalities from which the acinar cells quickly recovered. Two months later there was moderate pancreatic atrophy in which there were populations of acinar cells containing a variable complement of zymogen granules. In addition, there were nests of eosinophilic cells of unknown derivation which, though disposed in configurations resembling acinar cells, differed distinctly from them. They were devoid of the rich concentric lamellar arrays of ER and zymogen granules characteristic of acinar cells. In addition, differences existed in the chromatin pattern of their nuclei and the number and morphology of their mitochondria. These results suggest that NBOP induced the emergence of a new cell population with a phenotype distinctly different from any of the component cells of normal hamster pancreas.

Study of transdifferentiation provides an excellent opportunity to investigate various factors and mechanisms involved in repression of activated genes and derepression of inactivated genes. Here we describe a highly reproducible in vivo model, in which hepatocytes are induced in the pancreas of adult rats that were maintained on copper-deficient diet containing a relatively non-toxic copper-chelating agent, triethylenetetramine tetrahydrochloride (0.6% w/w) for 7-9 weeks and then returned to normal rat chow. This dietary manipulation resulted in almost complete loss of pancreatic acinar cells at the end of copper-depletion regimen, and in the development of multiple foci of hepatocytes during recovery phase. In some animals, liver cells occupied more than 60% of pancreatic volume within 6-8 weeks of recovery. Northern blot analysis of total RNA obtained from the pancreas of these rats revealed the expression of albumin mRNA. Albumin was demonstrated in these pancreatic hepatocytes by immunofluorescence. The advantages of this model over the previously described models are: a) low mortality (10%), b) depletion of acinar cells, and c) development of multiple foci of hepatocytes in 100% of rats.

Development of pancreatic hepatocytes in adult rats maintained on copper deficient diet containing 0.6% trien (CuDT) has been reported recently. To elucidate the histogenesis of hepatocytes a sequential study was undertaken using morphologic, histochemical, immunochemical, in situ hybridization, and Northern blot analysis. Male F-344 rats weighing 80 to 90 g were fed CuDT for 8 weeks and returned to normal rat chow. Beginning from 4 weeks of copper depletion, there was a progressive loss of acinar cells and by 8 weeks more than 90% of the acinar tissue was lost. During this period, there was an increase in the number of adipocytes in the interstitium, and in the number of interstitial and ductular cells. Morphologic observations were confirmed by immunoblot and Northern blot analysis, in which the amount of pancreatic proteins and their mRNAs decreased between 5 and 8 weeks. During this period, a progressive increase in the level of albumin mRNA was observed. In situ hybridization, performed at 7 weeks of copper deficiency, showed localization of albumin mRNA over interstitial and ductular cells. Pancreatic hepatocytes were identified immediately after the rats were returned to a normal diet and gradually increased in number. The hepatocytes occupied almost 60% of the pancreatic volume by 8 weeks. During the early recovery phase, hepatocytes were identified in ductules as well as in the interstitium. Based on these studies, it is concluded that both the ductular cells and interstitial cells, which resemble oval cells of liver, are capable of transforming into pancreatic hepatocytes and these cells may be considered stem-cell equivalent.

Differentiation is the process by which multicellular organisms achieve the specialized functions necessary for adaptation and survival. An in vivo model in the Syrian golden hamster is described in which regenerating pancreatic cells are converted into hepatocyte-like cells, as evidenced by the presence of albumin, peroxisomes, and a variety of morphological markers. These cells are stable after the conversion is triggered by a single dose of the carcinogen N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine administered during the S phase in regenerating pancreatic cells. This suggests that, given the proper stimulus, regenerating cells in adult pancreas can be redirected into a totally different pathway of differentiation.

The carcinogenic effect of 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline-1-oxide (4-HAQO) on exocrine pancreas of mice after a single intravenous (i.v.) injection was investigated. At a dose of 24 mg/kg body weight, 100% of the mice killed at the end of 40 weeks had developed atypical acinar cell foci (AAF) in the pancreas. Each pancreas contained an average of 18.3 +/- 2.7 AAF. Cells in AAF were arranged as acini and their cytoplasm contained eosinophilic zymogen granules. The nuclei were large, round to oval, basally located and contained 1-2 prominent nucleoli. Cells in AAF showed a markedly increased mitotic activity with an index of 4 +/- 0.7/1000 cells as compared to a value of 0.25 +/- 0.25 in the acinar cell population of control pancreas. Autoradiographic studies showed a labeling index of 23 +/- 3 in AAF as compared to only 1.5 +/- 0.29 in the pancreatic acinar cells of controls. These findings indicate that 4-HAQO induces pancreatic lesions in mice which are quite similar to the acidophilic foci observed in rat pancreas and may serve as another useful model for studies of pancreatic carcinogenesis.

Pancreatic acinar cells in various rodent species are capable of undergoing modulation to duct-like structures upon extended exposure to pancreatic carcinogens. Although the majority of malignant pancreatic neoplasms induced in rat and guinea pig are of acinar cell origin, some adenocarcinomas closely resembling those of ductal derivation have been reported. In hamster, on the other hand, carcinoma-induced duct-like modulation of acinar cells is followed exclusively by the development of ductal adenocarcinoma. The present experiments, in which the carcinogen N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine (BOP) was administered initially to hamsters during ethionine-induced pancreatic regeneration at a time when the maximum number of acinar cells was in S phase of the cell cycle, were undertaken to ascertain the extent and nature of acinar cell response to such treatment and the pattern of tumorigenesis. BOP was also administered weekly following the cessation of regeneration for periods ranging from 1.5 to 9 weeks to achieve total doses of 120, 90, and 40 mg of BOP per kg. Controls consisted of hamsters with normal nonregenerating pancreas that were treated with BOP on identical schedules to those of the experimental groups. The largest number of carcinomas (12 in 16 animals or 75%) developed in the highest-dose test group as compared to 10 in 26 animals or 38% in its control group. The difference was statistically significant (p less than 0.05). Other groups of hamsters with regenerating and nonregenerating pancreas receiving lower doses of carcinogen had tumor incidences which were not statistically different from one another. These experiments yielded ductal adenocarcinomas exclusively, although it is of interest that the two most common benign lesions encountered in these animals were cystadenomata often lined by zymogen-containing cells and duct-like modulation of acinar cells. Finally, in some of the animals with carcinomas, nests of duct-like structures, some of which appeared to arise from acini, were lined by severely atypical epithelium with numerous mitoses. The increased incidence and exclusive development of ductal adenocarcinoma in animals to whom carcinogen was administered during pancreatic regeneration coupled with the changes noted above are interpreted as presumptive evidence that acini may be involved in the pathogenesis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in the hamster.

4-hydroxyaminoquinoline, a carcinogen was injected into guinea-pigs intravenously in a single dose of 22-5 mg/kg. The sequential morphological changes in the exocrine cells of the pancreas were studied by electron microscopy at selected intervals between 18 and 60 hr. The earliest alterations in the acinar cells comprised nucleolar segregation into granular and fibrillar components and minimal dilatation of endoplasmic reticulum. At later intervals all the cytoplasmic organelles appeared altered. The endoplasmic reticular channels were markedly dilated with depletion of membrane bound and free ribosomes. The mitochondria were swollen and irregular with disruption of limiting membranes and cristae. The zymogen granules were markedly reduced or completely absent. The hyaloplasm contained morphologically variable cytoplasmic degenerative bodies. In addition to the acinar cells, centriacinar and ductal epithelial cells showed similar changes.

Tumors of the exocrine pancreas of the inbred strain 13 guinea pigs, induced by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea, reveal duct-like glandular differentiation and marked desmoplastic reaction of the stroma, characteristic of adenocarcinoma of human pancreas. During the course of induction of these tumors in the guinea pigs by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea, atypical pseudo-ductular proliferations were encountered in the pancreas which appeared to be precursor lesions for pancreatic carcinoma. The histogenesis of these pseudo-ductular lesions was studied by light and electron microscopy. The earliest changes consisted of dilatation of acinar lumina with decrease of apical cytoplasm and increased mitotic activity of the acinar cells. The actively proliferating, well-formed pseudo-ductules were lined by cuboidal or flattened epithelium containing a prominent nucleus and scant cytoplasm with few or no discernible zymogen granules by light microscopy. By electron microscopy, the cells lining the pseudo-ductules displayed features of immature or embryonic pancreatic acinar cells characterized by prominent nucleoli, marked decrease in rough endoplasmic reticulum with increase of free ribosomes, atypical zymogen granules and abundant microfilaments and microtubules. In two guinea pigs, transition from pseudo-ductular changes to adenocarcinoma was clearly evident. On the basis of these findings, it is proposed that the pseudo-ductular lesions of the guinea pig pancreas, and possibly those occuring in other species, are derived from acinar cells as a consequence of carcinogen induced cell proliferation leading to immature or dedifferentiated phenotypes. This hypothesis can, in part, be confirmed by immunocytochemical localization of pancreatic acinar cell specific secretory proteins and lectins in these pseudo-ductules.