Exocrine pancreas under experimental conditions. III. Membrane and cell junctions in isolated acinar cells.

The ultrastructure of the cell membrane and intercellular junctions was studied after isolation of exocrine pancreatic cells by tryptic digestion and mechanical treatment. The number and distribution of membrane associated particles does not change significantly when acinar cells in situ are compared to those after the isolation procedure. However, intercellular junctions undergo distinct alterations. Gap junctions in normal pancreatic cells are macular in shape and localized at the lateral parts of the cell membrane. In isolated acinar cells gap junctions are irregularly shaped, more extended, and frequently associated with tight junctions. Tight junctions form belt-like structures which are found to persist after isolation but subsequently become elongated and interrupted. Thus extensive macular areas of tight junctions develop. Further, the strands on the P-face and the grooves on the E-face of freeze-fracture replicas change in array, dissociate, and become loosely packed on large membrane areas. The present investigation shows that the intramembranous proteins of tight and gap junctions are mobile structures within the fluid membrane. The shape of their array is dependent on the form of the intercellular contact zone.