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INVESTIGATIONS INTO HYPERLIPIDEMIA AND ITS POSSIBLE ...

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27<br />

classify pancreatitis in dogs. However, no universally standardized terminology for<br />

pancreatitis has been agreed upon for veterinary species, and different authors classify<br />

pancreatitis differently. It is not clear at this time whether the different forms of<br />

pancreatitis (e.g., acute edematous pancreatitis, acute pancreatic necrosis, chronic<br />

pancreatitis) represent different phenotypes of the same disease or distinct disease<br />

entities, whether they share the same etiologic and pathogenetic mechanisms, or which<br />

factors determine the development of each form.<br />

Pathogenesis and pathophysiology<br />

Most of our understanding regarding the pathogenesis of pancreatitis is based on<br />

animal models and some clinical studies in humans. There is mounting evidence that<br />

genetic and possibly environmental factors may sensitize the pancreas to injury induced<br />

by one or more etiologic factors. 155,156 Regardless of the actual etiology, there appears to<br />

be a common pathogenetic mechanism in most cases of acute pancreatitis. Evidence<br />

supports that the initiating events that lead to pancreatitis take place in the acinar cell.<br />

Two well-documented early intracellular events that have been shown to precede the<br />

development of acute pancreatitis are retention and intracellular activation of<br />

zymogens. 155,156 Zymogens are inactive precursors of pancreatic enzymes that are stored<br />

in zymogen granules and are normally secreted into the pancreatic duct through the<br />

apical membrane of the acinar cell. The factors that lead to retention of zymogen<br />

granules and to premature intracellular activation of the zymogens are not fully<br />

elucidated. One of the most popular theories is the co-localization theory. 155,156 Based on

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