Cluster of differentiation 38 (CD38) mediates bile-acid induced acinar cell injury and pancreatitis through cyclic ADP ribose and intracellular calcium release

Aberrant Ca2+ signals within pancreatic acinar cells are an early and critical feature in acute pancreatitis, yet it is unclear how these signals are generated. An important mediator of the aberrant Ca2+ signals due to bile acid exposure is the intracellular Ca2+ channel ryanodine receptor. One putative activator of the ryanodine receptor is the nucleotide second messenger cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR), which is generated by an ectoenzyme ADP-ribosyl cyclase, CD38. In this study, we examined the role of CD38 and cADPR in acinar cell Ca2+ signals and acinar injury due to bile acids using pharmacologic inhibitors of CD38 and cADPR as well as mice deficient in Cd38 (Cd38−/−). Cytosolic Ca2+ signals were imaged using live time-lapse confocal microscopy in freshly isolated mouse acinar cells during perifusion with the bile acid taurolithocholic acid 3-sulfate (TLCS; 500 μm). To focus on intracellular Ca2+ release and to specifically exclude Ca2+ influx, cells were perifused in Ca2+-free medium. Cell injury was assessed by lactate dehydrogenase leakage and propidium iodide uptake. Pretreatment with either nicotinamide (20 mm) or the cADPR antagonist 8-Br-cADPR (30 μm) abrogated TLCS-induced Ca2+ signals and cell injury. TLCS-induced Ca2+ release and cell injury were reduced by 30 and 95%, respectively, in Cd38-deficient acinar cells compared with wild-type cells (p < 0.05). Cd38-deficient mice were protected against a model of bile acid infusion pancreatitis. In summary, these data indicate that CD38-cADPR mediates bile acid-induced pancreatitis and acinar cell injury through aberrant intracellular Ca2+ signaling.