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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
29
pubmed:dateCreated
1999-8-19
pubmed:abstractText
The balance between the concentrations of free ionized Ca2+ and bicarbonate in pancreatic juice is of critical importance in preventing the formation of calcium carbonate stones. How the pancreas regulates the ionic composition and the level of Ca2+ saturation in an alkaline environment such as the pancreatic juice is not known. Because of the tight cause-effect relationship between Ca2+ concentration and lithogenicity, and because hypercalcemia is proposed as an etiologic factor for several pancreatic diseases, we have investigated whether pancreatic tissues express a Ca2+-sensing receptor (CaR) similar to that recently identified in parathyroid tissue. Using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence microscopy, we demonstrate the presence of a CaR-like molecule in rat pancreatic acinar cells, pancreatic ducts, and islets of Langerhans. Functional studies, in which intracellular free Ca2+ concentration was measured in isolated acinar cells and interlobular ducts, show that both cell types are responsive to the CaR agonist gadolinium (Gd3+) and to changes in extracellular Ca2+ concentration. We also assessed the effects of CaR stimulation on physiological HCO3- secretion from ducts by making measurements of intracellular pH. Luminal Gd3+ is a potent stimulus for HCO3- secretion, being equally as effective as raising intracellular cAMP with forskolin. These results suggest that the CaR in the exocrine pancreas monitors the Ca2+ concentration in the pancreatic juice, and might therefore be involved in regulating the level of Ca2+ in the lumen, both under basal conditions and during hormonal stimulation. The failure of this mechanism might lead to pancreatic stone formation and even to pancreatitis.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jul
pubmed:issn
0021-9258
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
16
pubmed:volume
274
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
20561-8
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1999
pubmed:articleTitle
Molecular and functional identification of a Ca2+ (polyvalent cation)-sensing receptor in rat pancreas.
pubmed:affiliation
School of Biological Sciences, G38 Stopford Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't