Progressive changes in pancreatic vasculature accompanying copper deficiency-induced glandular atrophy.

Pancreatic vasculature was studied in rats treated with a dietary copper-deficient regimen to assess and characterize changes in the exocrine angioarchitecture of the gland. The deficient state is known to induce progressive acinar degeneration, atrophy, and subsequent replacement with noninflammatory lipomatosis. This study was carried out since little information exists regarding changes in the vasculature that accompany acute glandular necrosis. Corrosion casts produced from Mercox injected deficient rats were studied using scanning electron microscopy and compared to injected preparations studied by light microscopy. Results show that with initial atrophy of degenerative acini (6-8 wk), pancreatic lobules decreased in size and the volume of the vascular bed reduced. From wk 8 onward, the accumulation of fat cells expanded the configuration of lobules to more normal dimensions. Although vascular interconnectivity within lobules remained reduced, its basic angioarchitecture remained intact and served to vascularize fat cells in lieu of acini. No acute angiopathic changes indicative of vascular disorganization were found. These observations support the hypothesis that the vasculature of the atrophied pancreas, although modified in regions of the gland most severely targeted by acinar necrosis, remains intact and its basic structural features preserved. Preliminary evidence also supports the observation that preservation of the basic elements of lobular angioarchitecture may form the basis for subsequent regeneration of acinar tissue in the reversed deficient state.