AN ULTRASTRUCTURAL-STUDY TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF ALLOPURINOL ON CERULEIN-INDUCED DAMAGE TO PANCREATIC ACINAR-CELLS IN RAT

Conclusion, Subcellular organelles and membranes were the structures m ost protected by allopurinol, indirectly demonstrating their role of m ain and early target of oxygen-derived free radicals in the pathogenes is of acute pancreatitis, Background. The present work evaluates the u ltrastructural changes during cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis in r at, with and without treatment with allopurinol. Methods and Results, Supramaximal doses of cerulein, injected intraperitoneally (50 mu g/kg ) twice, at 1-h interval, caused severe subcellular alterations, inclu ding zymogen distribution, pathological vacuoles, and damage to organe lles and membranes. Cotreatment (40 mg/kg ip twice with 1-h interval; n = 10 rats) and, most of all, pretreatment (40 mg/kg ip allopurinol, 1 h; 20 mg/kg ip allopurinol + 50 mu g/kg ip cerulein, 30 min; 40 mg/k g ip allopurinol, 30 min; 50 mu g/kg ip cerulein; n = 10 rats) with al lopurinol showed significant morphological improvement.