Abstract
Effects of octreotide acetate, a somatostatin analog, on the development of spontaneous pancreatitis were investigated in WBN/Kob rats. Delivery of the agent continuously for 28 days via osmotic pumps implanted subcutaneously at 6 μg/day (group 1), 3 μg/day (group 2) or 0 μg/day (saline) (group 3) resulted in comparable body weight gain in all three groups. Relative weights of the liver, kidney, testis, spleen and pancreas also did not significantly differ between the treatments. Blood glucose levels were lowered by the high, but not the low dose treatment, while plasma somatostatin levels were remarkably increased in both the octreotide treatment groups. Remarkable hemorrhage, inflammatory cell infiltration, fibrosis, vacuolation of acinar cells and ductular proliferation were observed in the pancreas of control rats in group 3. However, these findings were consistently less intense in the octreotide treatment groups, in line with morphometric data showing fibrotic areas to be significantly (P<0.01) reduced. Immunohistochemically, collagen fibers in the intralobular space were mainly of type-III and mixed with α-smooth muscle actin, reflecting fibrosis in all groups. The present experiment demonstrated that octreotide inhibits spontaneous pancreatitis in WBN/Kob rats.
