ABSTRACT
Gap junctions are abundant within the pancreas and presumably account for the exchange of ions and membrane-impermeant molecules electrical and metabolic coupling between the main secretory cells of both exocrine acinar cells and endocrine B-cells portion of the gland. The acinar cells of the exocrine pancreas are connected by fairly large gap junctions. Exocrine acini are isolated by rapid collagenase digestion and filtration of the pancreas of adults rats. Virtually every freshly dissociated pair of pancreatic acinar cells shows dye coupling after microinjection of Lucifer Yellow and electrical coupling after dual whole-cell recording. The repeated observation that dispersed acinar cells do not respond to secretagogues, or not as well as intact acini, has suggested that contact-dependent cellular interactions may play a critical role in pancreas secretion. The pancreatic cells that comprise the endocrine islets of Langerhans are connected by small gap junctions that are clustered nonrandomly on only 30% of the cell interfaces.
