Mast cells may not play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of experimental closed duodenal loop-induced pancreatitis in rats.

Introduction: Ws/Ws rats have a small deletion of the c-kit gene and are deficient in both mucosal-type mast cells and connective tissue-type mast cells.

Aim: To investigate the role of pancreatic mast cells in the development of experimental closed duodenal loop (CDL)-induced pancreatitis using Ws/Ws rats.

Methodology: Pancreatitis was induced by the CDL technique for 5 and 12 hours, and the subsequent ascites volume, wet pancreatic weight, pancreatic myeloperoxidase activities, and serum amylase levels were evaluated. The pancreatic tissue damage was also evaluated histologically.

Results: The CDL technique induced equally severe ascites, pancreatic edema and hyperemia, and hyperamylasemia in the Ws/Ws versus the control (+/+) rats. The microscopic mucosal damage score was also equivalent in the Ws/Ws and control (+/+) rats, and there were no significant differences in mucosal myeloperoxidase activity between the Ws/Ws and control (+/+) rats.

Conclusion: These results indicate that mast cells may not be crucial for the development of CDL-induced pancreatitis.