Freshly isolated rat pancreatic acini were pre-incubated with either 40 μM IPA-3 or Pir 3,5 for 3 hours. Caspase (caspase 3, 8, 9) activities were measured as described in Materials and Methods in the lysates of isolated pancreatic acini. The results are representative of 4 independent (n=4) experiments. Results shown are the means ± SEM., * P< 0.05, comparing control, $ P<0.05 vs. Pir 3,5 alone. The generation of the active p34PAK2 form by the 3 hours incubation with CCK was also analyzed by western blotting (insert).