The Effect of Serum from Patients with Pancreatic Disease on the Short Circuit Current of Rat Jejunum

The short circuit current rat jejunum bioassay, first employed in an attempt to discern the cystic fibrosis (CF) serum "factor," was evaluated using sera from patients with pancreatic disease. The data suggest other pancreatic diseases, specifically genetic diabetes and alcoholic pancreatitis, also present with a serum "factor" (or "factors") which reduce the short circuit current of rat jejunum, an effect very similar to that of the CF serum "factor." A large number of sera from presumed normal subjects also exhibited a significant reduction in short circuit current; these (false positives) represent a yet to be defined mechanism, however, they do decrease the likelihood that the observed effect is merely due to pancreatic destruction. Detailed procedure and equipment specifications for the bioassay system are included.