The exocrine pancreas: the acinar-ductal tango in physiology and pathophysiology

Rev Physiol Biochem Pharmacol. 2013:165:1-30. doi: 10.1007/112_2013_14.

Abstract

There are many reviews of pancreatic acinar cell function and also of pancreatic duct function, but there is an almost total absence of synthetic reviews bringing the integrated functions of these two vitally and mutually interdependent cells together. This is what we have attempted to do in this chapter. In the first part, we review the normal integrated function of the acinar-ductal system, with particular emphasis on how regulation of one type of cell also influences the other cell type. In the second part, we review a range of pathological processes, particularly those involved in acute pancreatitis (AP), an often-fatal human disease in which the pancreas digests itself, in order to explore how malfunction of one of the cell types adversely affects the function of the other.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bile Acids and Salts / toxicity
  • Calcium / metabolism
  • Ethanol / toxicity
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Pancreas, Exocrine / drug effects
  • Pancreas, Exocrine / physiology*
  • Pancreatic Ducts / metabolism
  • Pancreatic Juice / chemistry

Substances

  • Bile Acids and Salts
  • Ethanol
  • Calcium