p38 MAPK inhibition alleviates experimental acute pancreatitis in mice

摘要

BACKGROUND: The mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) signaling pathway is involved in inflammatory process. However, the mechanism is not clear. The present study was to investi-gate the role of p38 MAPK in acute pancreatitis in mice. METHODS: Mice were divided into 4 groups: saline control; acute  pancreatitis  induced  with  repeated  injections  of  ceru-lein;  control  plus  p38  MAPK  inhibitor  SB203580;  and  acute pancreatitis plus SB203580. The pancreatic histology, pancre-atic enzymes, cytokines, myeloperoxidase activity, p38 MAPK and heat shock protein (HSP) 60 and 70 were evaluated. RESULTS: Repeated  injections  of  cerulein  resulted  in  acute pancreatitis  in  mice,  accompanying  with  the  activation  of p38  MAPK  and  overexpression  of  HSP60  and  HSP70  in  the pancreatic tissues. Treatment with SB203580 significantly in-hibited the activation of p38 MAPK, and furthermore, inhib-ited the expression of HSP60 and HSP70 in the pancreas, the inflammatory  cytokines  in  the  serum,  and  myeloperoxidase activity in the lung. CONCLUSION: The p38 MAPK signaling pathway is involved in  the  regulation  of  inflammatory  response  and  the  expres-sion of HSP60 and HSP70 in acute pancreatitis.