The roles of calcium and ATP in the physiology and pathology of the exocrine pancreas.

This review deals with the roles of calcium ions and ATP in the control of the normal functions of the different cell types in the exocrine pancreas as well as the roles of these molecules in the pathophysiology of acute pancreatitis. Repetitive rises in the local cytosolic calcium ion concentration in the apical part of the acinar cells not only activate exocytosis but also, via an increase in the intramitochondrial calcium ion concentration, stimulate the ATP formation that is needed to fuel the energy-requiring secretion process. However, intracellular calcium overload, resulting in a global sustained elevation of the cytosolic calcium ion concentration, has the opposite effect of decreasing mitochondrial ATP production, and this initiates processes that lead to necrosis.

Calcium Signaling in Pancreatic Immune Cells .

Immune cells were identified in intact live mouse pancreatic lobules and their Ca signals, evoked by various agents, characterized and compared with the simultaneously recorded Ca signals in neighboring acinar and stellate cells. Immunochemistry in the live lobules indicated that the pancreatic immune cells most likely are macrophages. In the normal pancreas the density of these cells is very low, but induction of acute pancreatitis (AP), by a combination of ethanol and fatty acids, markedly increased the number of the immune cells.

Galactose protects against cell damage in mouse models of acute pancreatitis.

Acute pancreatitis (AP), a human disease in which the pancreas digests itself, has substantial mortality with no specific therapy. The major causes of AP are alcohol abuse and gallstone complications, but it also occurs as an important side effect of the standard asparaginase-based therapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Previous investigations into the mechanisms underlying pancreatic acinar cell death induced by alcohol metabolites, bile acids, or asparaginase indicated that loss of intracellular ATP generation is an important factor.

Calcium signalling in the acinar environment of the exocrine pancreas: physiology and pathophysiology.

Key Points: Ca signalling in different cell types in exocrine pancreatic lobules was monitored simultaneously and signalling responses to various stimuli were directly compared. Ca signals evoked by K -induced depolarization were recorded from pancreatic nerve cells. Nerve cell stimulation evoked Ca signals in acinar but not in stellate cells.

[CONNECTIVE TISSUE METABOLIC FEATURES IN CLIMACTERIC SYNDROME'S PATIENTS WITH VARIOUS TYPES OF MENOPAUSE].

The purpose of the study was investigation of the connective tissue metabolic features among women with menopausal syndrome (MS) and MS, in which the arthropathic syndrome is leading and comparative analysis of the connective tissue indicators exchange during menopause caused in a surgical and natural way. We examined 70 women in total, menopause duration they accounted for 1,95±1,1 years, it came both as natural, and as a result of a surgery. The main group included 40 women with MS with leading arthropathic syndrome.