Vet
Pathol 1999 Nov;36(6):530-41
Exocrine
pancreatic atrophy in German Shepherd Dogs and Rough-coated Collies: an end
result of lymphocytic pancreatitis.
Wiberg
ME, Saari SA, Westermarck E.
Department
of Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University
of Helsinki, Finland. maria.wiberg@helsinki.fi
Previously
published studies of the pathology of canine exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
(EPI) have been based on morphological findings during the clinical
phase of the disease, when atrophy of acinar parenchyma occurs. Recently,
low serum trypsinlike immunoreactivity (TLI) concentration has been shown
to precede clinical signs, making it possible to diagnose EPI prior to onset
of the clinical disease. This study presents histological and ultrastructural
findings of pancreatic biopsies from 11 German Shepherd Dogs and 2
Rough-coated Collies with subclinical EPI (SEPI). These findings were compared
with
those from dogs with clinical EPI (n = 11) and healthy control dogs (n =5).
Biopsied tissue from dogs with SEPI typically contained both normal and atrophied
acinar parenchyma. The most significant finding was the marked lymphocytic
infiltration, which was most prevalent at the border zone of affected
and nonaffected parenchyma but had spread into the normal acinar tissue.
Numerous intraacinar lymphocytes were found. Most of the lymphocytes were
positive by immunostaining for CD3. In more advanced stages of destruction, the
findings were characteristic of pancreatic acinar atrophy. In the atrophied parenchyma,
the inflammatory reaction, if present, was less prominent. Ultrastructural
changes were in accordance with those of the histological study showing
infiltration of lymphocytes both in affected acini and in acini that revealed
no obvious ultrastructural changes. Progressive degenerative changes of acinar
cells were considered a nonspecific finding. Apoptotic death of acinar cells
was occasionally found. The inflammatory reaction was clearly shown to precede
the pancreatic acinar atrophy, and the findings suggested that lymphocytic
pancreatitis leads to atrophy of the pancreas. The possibility that EPI
is an immune-mediated disease in German Shepherd Dogs and Rough-coated Collies
is discussed.
PMID:
10568434 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]