Characteristics of Endocrine Pancreas in Chronic Pancreatitis,as Revealed by Simultaneous Immunocytochemical Demonstration of Hormone Production

Abstract

Cells producing insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, and pancreatic polypeptide (PP) were demonstrated by simultaneous immunocytochemical detection in human pancreatic sections of 3 patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) and diabetes mellitus (DM), 2 patients with CP and normal glucose tolerance, and 2 patients with normal morphology (3 sections each). The triple and quadruple labeling protocol involved the sequential use of immunogold silver staining (IGSS), indirect immunoalkaline phosphatase (IAP), the indirect immunoperoxidase (IPO), and the peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) methods. This approach proved useful for the recognition of some topo-morphological features of the endocrine pancreas at a glance in normal and CP tissues.

In the process of islet cell neoformation (ductoendocrine proliferation), the A cells seemed to occur first within the ducts and ductules, followed by the B and D cells. Additionally, in some islets of Langerhans damaged by intraislet peliosis in DM patients, the A cells were found to be very resistant, whereas the number B cells was seriously reduced. (The J Histotechnol 13:213, 1990)