Review of experimental animal models of biliary acute pancreatitis and recent advances in basic research

Abstract

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a formidable disease, which, in severe forms, causes significant mortality. Biliary AP, or gallstone obstruction-associated AP, accounts for 30-50% of all clinical cases of AP. In biliary AP, pancreatic acinar cell (PAC) death (the initiating event in the disease) is believed to occur as acinar cells make contact with bile salts when bile refluxes into the pancreatic duct. Recent advances have unveiled an important receptor responsible for the major function of bile acids on acinar cells, namely, the cell surface G-protein-coupled bile acid receptor-1 (Gpbar1), located in the apical pole of the PAC. High concentrations of bile acids induce cytosolic Ca(2+) overload and inhibit mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production, resulting in cell injury to both PACs and pancreatic ductal epithelial cells. Various bile salts are employed to induce experimental AP, most commonly sodium taurocholate. Recent characterization of taurolithocholic acid 3-sulphate on PACs has led researchers to focus on this bile salt because of its potency in causing acinar cell injury at relatively low, sub-detergent concentrations, which strongly implicates action via the receptor Gpbar1. Improved surgical techniques have enabled the infusion of bile salts into the pancreatic duct to induce experimental biliary AP in mice, which allows the use of these transgenic animals as powerful tools. This review summarizes recent findings using transgenic mice in experimental biliary AP.

Loss of bace1 in mice does not alter the severity of caerulein induced pancreatitis

“…However, the latter model seems to be far away from physiological processes. Other pancreatitis models like bile-pancreatic duct obstructions or retrograde taurolithocholic acid 3-sulfate injections have been shown to be very invasive and to produce varying results [30]. Thus, the caerulein-pancreatitis used in this study seems the most suitable model for general observation.…”

Emodin in Severe Acute Pancreatitis Treatment

“…The most important cause of severe acute pancreatitis is biliary [5]. According to a report, between 1990 and 2005, 1976 cases of severe acute pancreatitis were admitted to 15 medical centers in China, and 58.7% of them were caused by biliary tract diseases [4].…”

Morphological Changes in the Retroperitoneal Fat Tissue in the Early Phase of Acute Necrotizing Pancreatitis

“…Основная часть морфологических исследований ЗК при ОП основана на изучении материалов патолого-анатомических вскрытий [3,4,10,11]. Авторы экспериментальных исследований, как правило, рассматривают морфологические изменения в тканях поджелудочной железы, легких, печени, почек [12,13]. Изучению изменений в забрю-шинной клетчатке при моделировании острого панкреатита посвящены единичные работы [14].…”