CERULEIN-INDUCED ACUTE-PANCREATITIS DIMINISHED VITAMIN-E CONCENTRATION IN PLASMA AND INCREASED IN THE PANCREAS

Redistribution of vitamin E in the rat body was studied during acute p ancreatitis induced by two intraperitoneal doses of cerulein 40 mu g/k g of body weight at 1-hr intervals. Hyperamylasemia (2064 +/- 521 vs 6 419 +/- 129 U/dL) and pancreatic edema (pancreatic water content, 71 /- 1.2% vs 78 +/- 2%) were observed. In this model the increased level of lipid soluble fluorophore was also observed (274 +/- 18 vs 120 +/- 9.0 relative fluorescence per g dry wt). Parallel with these changes was a decrease in the level of vitamin E in the serum and an increase in the pancreas. The concentration of vitamin E in the pancreas after 6 h was 162 +/- 8.5 ng/mg dry mass vs 128.1 +/- 6.1 ng/mg dry mass in control animals. The effect of heparin on vitamin E redistribution ind uced by acute pancreatitis was also investigated. It was found that he parin at a dose of 100 U/kg body mass prevents the drop of the vitamin E level in the serum as well as the increases in the concentration in the pancreas tissue. It was concluded that acute pancreatitis induced redistribution of vitamin E in the rat body. Moreover, we studied the effects of heparin treatment on oxidative stress in the pancreas tiss ue. Acute pancreatitis caused an increase in lipofuscin accumulation, and a decrease in protein sulfhydryl groups in citrate synthetase (CS) and in malate dehydrogenase (MDH) activity. Heparin treatment that pr otected vitamin E accumulation in the pancreas tissue did not influenc e the changes in the level of lipofuscin and proteins sulfhydryl. On t he other hand rats treated with heparin showed a greater decrease in C S and MDH activities.