The pathology of elastase-induced panacinar emphysema in hamsters.

A single dose of crystalline, porcine pancreatic elastase injected intratracheally into hamsters induces widespread alveolar enlargement with subpleural bullae. A uniformly severe lesion is consistently induced by 0-2 mg elastase per 100 g body weight and with negligible mortality. Compared with controls, which showed no lesion, elastase-damaged lungs show a highly significant (P less than or equal to 0-001) increase in alveolar size and a decrease in internal surface area. Taken with the associated physiological abnormalities, these findings closely simulate human emphysema of the panlobular (panacinar) type. Histologically it appears that elastase converts the fine elastic fibres in alveolar walls and pleura into thickened, nodular fibres which may also be broken along their length. With higher doses of elastase, i.e., 0-5 mg/100 g body weight, many pulmonary arteries showed segmental loss of inner and outer elastic laminae, usually with thrombosis on the overlying endothelium. The mechanism of this thrombosis is unclear. These experiments suggest that damage to elastic fibres may be an important element in the development of human panacinar emphysema, and that the damage could be one pathogenetic mechanism which produces damage of elastic fibres.