Abstract
We used a computer-assisted morphometry approach to analyze quantitatively the process of cytoplasmic granule formation in mouse pancreatic acinar cells stimulated with pilocarpine to induce secretion. Our findings suggest that each condensing vacuole/immature granule of pancreatic acinar cells is formed by the progressive aggregation of 106 to 128 "unit progranules" of narrowly fixed volume, define a range of 7.7 to 9.2 for the factor of volume condensation between the largest immature granules and the mature unit granule, and predict that the formation of a single mature unit granule by the aggregation and fusion of unit progranules involves a net reduction of at least 95% in the amount of membrane surface area associated with these structures.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 327-336 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Cell and Tissue Research |
Volume | 278 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 1994 |
Keywords
- Degranulation
- Golgi complex
- Mouse (ICR)
- Pancreas
- Pilocarpine
- Unit granule formation