Abstract
The pancreas plays a central role in digestion and absorption as well as utilization and storage of energy substrates. As described in Chapter 1, it consists of two structurally distinct but functionally integrated glandular systems, namely the exocrine and endocrine pancreas, both of which arise from an outgrowth of the primitive gut. Secretion by the exocrine pancreas is modulated by neural and hormonal signals, particularly in the form of numerous gastrointestinal peptide hormones (Chey & Chang, 2001). Due to the lack of basal membranes or compartmentalization capsules for different cell types in the pancreas, the islets cells are interspersed within the exocrine acini. Acini located near islets, called peri-insular acini, are composed of larger sized cells possessing larger nuclei and more abundant zymogen granules than acini removed from islets, called tele-insular acini. Some secretory products of the islet cells, such as insulin, interact directly with acinar cells and thereby regulate acinar function (Murakami et al., 1992). The exclusive morphology of the peri-insular acini is reflected in the presence of high insulin concentrations in the region (von Schönfeld et al., 1994).
Keywords
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Andralojc KM, Mercalli A, Nowak KW, Albarello L, Calcagno R, Luzi L, Bonifacio E, Doglioni C and Piemonti L. Ghrelin-producing epsilon cells in the developing and adult human pancreas. Diabetologia 52:486–493, 2009.
Bayliss WM and Starling EH. The mechanism of pancreatic secretion. J Physiol 28:325–353, 1902.
Beger HG. The pancreas: an integrated textbook of basic science, medicine, and surgery. Blackwell, Oxford, 2008.
Berry SM and Fink AS. Insulin inhibits secretin-stimulated pancreatic bicarbonate output by a dose-dependent neurally mediated mechanism. Am J Physiol 270:G163–G170, 1996.
Bolender RP. Stereological analysis of the guinea pig pancreas. I. Analytical model and quantitative description of nonstimulated pancreatic exocrine cells. J Cell Biol 61:269–287, 1974.
Boden G, Sivitz MC, Owen OE, Essa-Koumar N, Landon JH. Somatostatin suppresses secretin and pancreatic exocrine secretion. Science 190:163–165, 1975.
Bonner-Weir S and Sharma A. Pancreatic stem cells. J Pathol 197:519–526, 2002.
Bonner-Weir S, Toschi E, Inada A, Reitz P, Fonseca SY, Aye T and Sharma A. The pancreatic ductal epithelium serves as a potential pool of progenitor cells. Pediatr Diabetes 5:16–22, 2004.
Chey WY and Chang T. Neural hormonal regulation of exocrine pancreatic secretion. Pancreatology 1:320–335, 2001.
Chey WY, Shay H and Shuman CR. External pancreatic secretion in diabetes mellitus. Ann Intern Med 59:812–821, 1963.
Date Y, Nakazato M, Hashiguchi S, Dezaki K, Mondal MS, Hosoda H, Kojima M, Kangawa K, Arima T, Matsuo H, Yada T and Matsukura S. Ghrelin is present in pancreatic alpha-cells of humans and rats and stimulates insulin secretion. Diabetes 51:124–129, 2002.
De Vriese C and Delporte C. Ghrelin: a new peptide regulating growth hormone release and food intake. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 40:1420–1424, 2008.
Domschke S, Domschke W, Rösch W, Konturek SJ, Sprügel W, Mitznegg P, Wünsch E and Demling L. Inhibition by somatostatin of secretin-stimulated pancreatic secretion in man: a study with pure pancreatic juice. Scand J Gastroenterol 12:59–63, 1977.
Francis B, Baskin D, Saunders D and Ensinck J. Distribution of somatostatin-14 and somatostatin-28 gastrointestinal-pancreatic cells of rats and humans. Gastroenterology 99:1283–1291, 1990.
Githens S. The pancreatic duct cell: proliferative capabilities, specific characteristics, metaplasia, isolation, and culture. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 7:486–506, 1988.
Hanssen LE. Pure synthetic bile salts release immunoreactive secretin in man. Scand J Gastroenterol 15:461–463, 1980
Hardt PD, Krauss A, Bretz L, Porsch-Ozcürümez M, Schnell-Kretschmer H, Mäser E, Bretzel RG, Zekhorn T and Klör HU. Pancreatic exocrine function in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Acta Diabetol 37:105–110, 2000.
Heremans Y, Van De Casteele M, in’t Veld P, Gradwohl G, Serup P, Madsen O, Pipeleers D and Heimberg H. Recapitulation of embryonic neuroendocrine differentiation in adult human pancreatic duct cells expressing neurogenin 3. J Cell Biol 159:303–312, 2002.
Horiuchi A, Iwatsuki K, Ren LM, Kuroda T and Chiba S. Dual actions of glucagon: direct stimulation and indirect inhibition of dog pancreatic secretion. Eur J Pharmacol 237:23–30, 1993.
Howard-McNatt M, Simon T, Wang Y and Fink AS. Insulin inhibits secretin-induced pancreatic bicarbonate output via cholinergic mechanisms. Pancreas 24:380–385, 2002.
Iwatsuki N and Petersen OH. Electrical coupling and uncoupling of exocrine acinar cells. J Cell Biol 79:533–545, 1978.
Kasai H, Li YX and Miyashita Y. Subcellular distribution of Ca2+ release channels underlying Ca2+ waves and oscillations in exocrine pancreas. Cell 74:669–677, 1993.
Kojima N, Hosoda H, Date Y, Nakazato M, Matsuo H and Kangawa K. Ghrelin is a growth hormone-releasing acylated peptide from stomach. Nature 402:565–660, 1999.
Korc M, Owerbach D, Quinto C and Rutter WJ. Pancreatic islet-acinar cell interaction: amylase messenger RNA levels are determined by insulin. Science 213:351–353, 1981.
Lai KC, Cheng CHK, Ko WH and Leung PS. Ghrelin system in pancreatic AR42J cells: its ligand stimulation evokes calcium signaling through ghrelin receptors. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 37:887–900, 2005.
Lai KC, Cheng CHK and Leung PS. The ghrelin system in acinar cells: localization, expression, and regulation in the exocrine pancreas. Pancreas 35:e1–e8, 2007.
Leung PS and Carlsson PO. Tissue renin-angiotensin system: its expression, localization, regulation and potential role in the pancreas. J Mol Endocrinol 26:155–164, 2001.
Leung PS and Ip SP. Pancreatic acinar cell: its role in acute pancreatitis. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 38:1024–1030, 2006.
Maechler P, Carobbio S and Rubi B. In beta-cells, mitochondria integrate and generate metabolic signals controlling insulin secretion. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 38:696–709, 2006.
Melvin JE, Park K, Richardson L, Schultheis PJ and Shull GE. Mouse down-regulated in adenoma (DRA) is an intestinal Cl–/HCO3 – exchanger and is up-regulated in colon of mice lacking the NHE3 Na+/H+ exchanger. J Biol Chem 274:22855–22861, 1999.
Murakami T, Fujita T, Taguchi T, Nonaka Y and Orita K. The blood vascular bed of the human pancreas, with special reference to the insulo-acinar portal system. canning electron microscopy of corrosion casts. Arch Histol Cytol 55:381–395, 1992.
Nakagawa A, Stagner JI and Samols E. Suppressive role of the islet-acinar axis in the perfused rat pancreas. Gastroenterology 105:868–875, 1993.
Okabayashi Y, Maddux BA, McDonald AR, Logsdon CD, Williams JA and Goldfine ID. Mechanisms of insulin-induced insulin-receptor downregulation. Decrease of receptor biosynthesis and mRNA levels. Diabetes 38:182–187, 1989.
Pandol SJ. Neurohumoral control of exocrine pancreatic secretion. Curr Opin Gastroenterol 20:435–438, 2004.
Patel R, Singh J, Yago MD, Vilchez JR, Martínez-Victoria E and Mañas M. Effect of insulin on exocrine pancreatic secretion in healthy and diabetic anaesthetised rats. Mol Cell Biochem 261:105–110, 2004.
Petersen OH. Human Physiology. Blackwell, Oxford, 2007.
Petersen OH. Stimulus-secretion coupling: cytoplasmic calcium signals and the control of ion channels in exocrine acinar cells. J Physiol 448:1–5, 1992.
Petersen OH and Ueda N. Pancreatic acinar cells: the role of calcium in stimulus-secretion coupling. J Physiol 254:583–606, 1976.
Podolsky DK. Peptide growth factors in the gastrointestinal tract. In LR Johnson (ed), Physiology of the gastrointestinal tract, vol 1, 3rd edn. Raven Press, New York, NY, pp 1–128, 1994.
Poulsen JH, Fischer H, Illek B and Machen TE. Bicarbonate conductance and pH regulatory capability of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 91:5340–5344, 1994
Saito A, Williams JA and Kanno T. Potentiation of cholecystokinin-induced exocrine secretion by both exogenous and endogenous insulin in isolated and perfused rat pancreata. J Clin Invest 65:777–782, 1980.
Scheele G, Adler G and Kern H. Exocytosis occurs at the lateral plasma membrane of the pancreatic acinar cell during supramaximal secretagogue stimulation. Gastroenterology 92:345–353, 1987.
Schlegel W, Raptis S, Harvey RF, Oliver JM, Pfeiffer EF. Inhibition of cholecystokinin-pancreaozymin release by somatostatin. Lancet 2:166–168, 1977.
Schuit FC, Huypens P, Heimberg H and Pipeleers DG. Glucose sensing in pancreatic beta-cells: a model for the study of other glucose-regulated cells in gut, pancreas, and hypothalamus. Diabetes 50:1–11, 2001.
Shcheynikov N, Wang Y, Park M, Ko SB, Dorwart M, Naruse S, Thomas PJ and Muallem S. Coupling modes and stoichiometry of Cl-/HCO3- exchange by slc26a3 and slc26a6. J Gen Physiol 127:511–524, 2006.
Simon T, Marcus A, Royce CL, Chao F, Mendez T and Fink AS. Hyperglycemia alone does not inhibit secretin-induced pancreatic bicarbonate secretion. Pancreas 20:277–281, 2002.
Steiner DF and Rubenstein AH. Proinsulin C-peptide-biological activity. Science 277:531–532, 1997.
Tong J, Utzschneider KM, Carr DB, Zraika S, Udayasankar J, Gerchman F, Knopp RH and Kahn SE. Plasma pancreatic polypeptide levels are associated with differences in body fat distribution in human subjects. Diabetologia 50:439–442, 2007.
Tsang SW, Cheng CHK and Leung PS. The role of pancreatic renin-angiotensin system in acinar digestive enzyme secretion and in acute pancreatitis. Regul Pept 119:213–219, 2004.
von Schönfeld J, Goebell H and Müller MK. The islet-acinar axis of the pancreas. Int J Pancreatol 16:131–140, 1994.
Unger RH, Dobbs RS and Orci L. Insulin, glucagon and somatostatin secretion in the regulation of metabolism. Annu Rev Physiol 40:307–343, 1978.
Wahren J and Felig P. Influence of somatostatin on carbohydrate disposal and absorption in diabetes mellitus. Lancet 2:1213–1216, 1976.
Wäsle B and Edwardson JM. The regulation of exocytosis in the pancreatic acinar cell. Cell Signal 14:191–197, 2002.
Williams JA and Goldfine ID. The insulin-pancreatic acinar axis. Diabetes 34:980–986, 1985.
Wookey PJ, Lutz TA and Andrikopoulos S. Amylin in the periphery: an updated mini-review. ScientificWorldJournal 6:1642–1652, 2006.
Wong PF and Cheung WT. Immunohistochemical colocalization of type II angiotensin receptors with somatostatin in rat pancreas. Regul Pept 117:195–205, 2004.
Zhang W, Chen M, Chen X, Segura BJ and Mulholland MW. Inhibition of pancreatic protein secretion by ghrelin in the rat. J Physiol 537:231–136, 2001.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Leung, P.S. (2010). Physiology of the Pancreas. In: The Renin-Angiotensin System: Current Research Progress in The Pancreas. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 690. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9060-7_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9060-7_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-9059-1
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-9060-7
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)