Immunocytochemical localisation of pancreastatin and chromogranin A in porcine neuroendocrine tissues.

Pancreastatin is a 49 amino acid peptide with a C-terminal glycine amide originally isolated from porcine pancreas. In the present study the cellular localisation of pancreastatin in porcine neuroendocrine tissue was examined immunocytochemically using an antiserum raised against porcine pancreastatin (33-49) that does not cross-react with porcine chromogranin A. In order to study the possible precursor-product relationship between chromogranin A and pancreastatin the cellular localisation of both peptides was examined in peripheral tissues using simultaneous double immunostaining. The pancreastatin antiserum immunostained cells and nerve fibers throughout the neuroendocrine system. In most of the examined tissues we found colocalisation of pancreastatin and chromogranin A immunostaining. These results support the precursor-product concept for chromogranin A and pancreastatin. However, in the gastrointestinal tract and the adenohypophysis a minor population of the endocrine cells exhibited immunostaining with only one of the two antibodies. This discrepancy between immunostaining with pancreastatin antiserum and monoclonal chromogranin A antibody could be due to absence of, or extensive, processing of chromogranin A in certain cell populations.