The intermediate cells of the rat pancreas in normal conditions and following portacaval shunt
Bani, D.; Bani Sacchi, T.
Zeitschrift für Mikroskopisch-Anatomische Forschung 99(3): 353-361
1985
ISSN/ISBN: 0044-3107 PMID: 4050014 Document Number: 255711
Intermediate cells of the pancreas were investigated in rats in normal conditions and after portacaval shunt (PCS). Intermediate cells were only occasionally encountered in normal rats. These cells show 2 different patterns in their inner organization: the cells of the 1st type often have 2 nuclei and cytoplasm with prevailing exocrine features on one hand and prevailing endocrine features on the other; the 2nd type of cells have exocrine and endocrine structures randomly distributed throughout their cytoplasm. In rats with portacaval shunts, in which neoformation of islet cells was previously demonstrated, the intermediate cells were found more frequently than in normal state and some of them were also seen to abut in the acinar lumen. A possible mechanism for the genesis of intermediate cells is proposed and a probable significance of their association with nesidioblastosis is discussed.