Abstract:Objective To observe the protective effect of pretreatment with wortmannin against pancreas and liver injuries indued by severe acute pancreatitis(SAP) in rats and investigate its mechanism.
Methods Fifty-four SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: control group（C group）,SAP group（P group） and SAP＋wortmannin group（PW group）(n=18 per group). SAP model was induced by retrograde infusion of 50g/L sodium taurocholate into the biliopancreatic duct of rats,except C group in which sodium taurocholate was replaced by normal saline. Serum level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α)、 alanine aminotransferase（ALT）、aspartate aminotransferase（AST）、and nuclear factor-kappa B（NF-κB）in liver were detected. Histopathology of liver and pancreas was studied.
Results In P group, serum levels of TNF-α、ALT、AST and NF-κB in liver were significantly elevated(P<0.01);the liver and pancreas injuries were gradually aggravated with disease progression. All the indicators of PW group were also elevated compared with C group, but still significantly decreased as compared with P group(P<0.01).
Conclusions Pretreatment with wortmannin could decrease pancreas and liver injury in pancreatitis rats. The mechanism may be related to the inhibition on the activation of NF-KB and on the release of TNF-α and other inflammatory factors.