Pancreatic epithelial fluid and bicarbonate secretion is significantly elevated in the absence of peripheral serotonin

We read the manuscript by Sonda et al1 recently published in Gut with great interest. The authors elegantly demonstrated that lack of peripheral serotonin (5-HT) in tryptophan hydroxylase 1 knockout (TPH1–/–) mice remarkably limited pancreatic damage and leucocyte infiltration during the early phase of cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis (AP) and identified 5-HT as an important regulator of zymogen secretion in acinar cells. Although the study was very comprehensive, the ductal function of TPH1–/– mice was not investigated, which might be another key player in this protection. Notably, 5-HT was shown to inhibit fluid and HCO3– secretion of pancreatic ductal epithelial cells,2 which play a pivotal role in pancreatic physiology and can influence the severity of AP.3 Thus, we investigated the possible alterations of pancreatic ductal secretion in TPH1–/– mice. To achieve our aim, intralobular/interlobular pancreatic ducts were isolated from the pancreas of wild-type (TPH1+/+)...

Source: Gut - August 7, 2015 Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Maleth, J., Madacsy, T., Pallagi, P., Balazs, A., Venglovecz, V., Rakonczay, Z., Hegyi, P. Tags: PostScript Source Type: research