Pancreatic secretory profiles of protein, digestive, and lysosomal enzymes in Syrian golden hamster

Abstract

Profiles of pancreatic secretory proteins (zymogens, lysosomal enzymes) were studied in Syrian golden hamsters after sequential stimulation of the pancreas with secretin and cholecystokinin-octapeptide (CCK). The flow rate of pancreatic juice after secretin (0.2 CU/100 g) was approximately 2.7 μl/min/100 g animal (about 55% of that in human subjects). The half-life of the secretin effect was about 60 min. The initial concentration of protein in pancreatic juice (minute-to-minute collection) in response to secretin was over 10 times larger than that in human subjects and the “wash-out” phase required>1 hr vs <10 min in humans. CCK (4 ng/100 g) in minute-to-minute collections of juice produced an approximately eightfold increase in concentration of secretory products over baseline values, and the half-life of its effect was about 2 min, similar to that found in human subjects. Digestive as well as lysosomal enzyme activities in hamster pancreatic juice were 10–15 times higher than those found in human pancreatic secretions. This species difference may be relevant to the susceptibility of the hamster pancreas to carcinogens.