Influence of steroids on the exocrine pancreas: presence of laminated bodies in the acinar lumen following castration and adrenalectomy.

The influences of combined adrenalectomy and castration and of a replacement therapy with estradiol and glucocorticoids were examined in the rat pancreas. At the light microscope level, the surgical treatment changed the overall shape of the acini and caused widening of intralobular and interlobular spaces as well as partial depletion of zymogen granules. A significant reduction of the acinar lumen size was observed in castrated-adrenalectomized (CasX-AdreX) animals. This could be reversed by a replacement therapy with glucocorticoids. Moreover, triamcinolone even caused a significant lumen enlargement as compared to sham-operated animals. Such an enlargement was not observed with dexamethasone. Both these glucocorticoids caused an increase in zymogen granule content of the acinar cell. At the ultrastructural level, hitherto undescribed type of precipitates was observed in the acinar lumen of CasX-AdreX rats. Precipitates that exhibited a laminated aspect were identified as luminal laminated bodies. The latter could have some interest from the etiological point of view of certain pancreatic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and pancreatitis. Replacement therapy with estradiol did not affect the frequency of these precipitates, but glucocorticoid had a significantly inhibitory effect. From our observation, it is clear that some steroid exert a profound influence on the acinar cell and that a replacement therapy with glucocorticoids or estradiol do not totally restore the normal aspect of the pancreas acinar tissue. It suggests that some unknown factors from adrenals or testis are still required in addition to glucocorticoids and estrogens for the maintenance of the structural integrity of the gland.