The influence of the alcohol and the low protein diet on rat pancreas

We investigated the influence of alcohol and the low protein diet upon rat pancreas. Rats were separated in four groups, 1) Control diet group (Cont), 2) Alcohol diet group (Al), 3) Low protein diet group (Lp), 4) Low protein and alcohol diet group (Lp+Al). They were fed on isocaloric liquid diet compulsorily through the gastric tube. They were sacrificed 3, 6, 12 weeks after. By the light microscopic observation on the rat pancreas which were fed for 12 weeks, lipid droplets in the acinar cells were observed in all groups other than Cont. Apoptosis was founded in Lp and Lp+Al groups. Protein plugs were observed in all groups, and no relation was found between the plugs and the location of the injured acinar cells. By the electromicroscopic observation, in Lp+Al group, acinar cells were typically injured (ER dilation, atrophic nuclei, mitochondria degeneration, etc.) and mesenchymal cells appeared among acinar cells. These results suggest that alcohol causes pancreatic acinar cell injury directly, and relative low protein diet helps to turn it worse.