epidermal-growth-factor and asperlicin

To evaluate the possible role of various hormones on fetal pancreas development, late gestational fetal rat pancreata (20 days) were cultured in a serum-free medium for 6 days in the presence of cholecystokinin-octapeptide (CCK-8), epidermal growth factor, triiodothyronine, or glucagon with or without dexamethasone. In the absence of any added hormone, the tissue amylase activity declined very rapidly. Epidermal growth factor alone (4.10(-7) M) could not preserve the amylase activity, whereas triiodothyronine (0.1 microM) and glucagon (4 micrograms/ml) had a deleterious effect that was prevented by the addition of DXM (3.10(-6) M). In the presence of CCK-8 (2.10(-11) M) 50 and 30% of the amylase activity was maintained on the 2nd and the 4th day of culture, respectively. The CCK-8 effect was dose dependent and was inhibited by asperlicin (10 microM). The combination of CCK-8 and dexamethasone maintained more than 80% of the amylase activity in the fetal pancreas explants through 4 days of culture. Fetal pancreas cultured in this optimal medium and treated with streptozotocin (10(-7) M) during the 1st day of culture showed a significantly lower tissue amylase activity on the 4th and 6th days than those not treated with streptozotocin. The streptozotocin effect was attenuated when insulin (0.1 U/ml) was added. These data suggest that, in addition to the well-known effect of glucocorticoid on enzyme activities in the fetal pancreas, two additional hormones, CCK and insulin, could play a role in the modulation of pancreatic amylase activity in the fetal rat.

Topics: Amylases; Animals; Benzodiazepinones; Cells, Cultured; Dexamethasone; Epidermal Growth Factor; Fetus; Gestational Age; Glucagon; Insulin; Pancreas; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Sincalide; Streptozocin; Time Factors; Triiodothyronine