NF-κB activation is detrimental in arginine-induced acute pancreatitis

The transcription factor nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) has been shown to have a critical role in the pathogenesis of sodium taurocholate- and cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis by regulating the expression of many proinflammatory genes in the pancreas. Heat shock proteins (HSPs), on the other hand, protect the pancreas against cellular damage. The aims of the present study were: (i) to investigate pancreatic NF-κB activation, proinflammatory cytokine synthesis, and cytoprotective HSP induction during L-arginine- (Arg-) induced acute pancreatitis in rats, and (ii) to establish whether pretreatment with pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) or methylprednisolone (MP) can block the activation of pancreatic NF-κB and determine their effects on the severity of Arg-induced acute pancreatitis. The dose-response (3 or 4 g/kg) and time-effect (0.5–96 h) curves relating to the action of Arg on pancreatic NF-κB activation and IL-1β, TNF-α, HSP60, and HSP72 synthesis were evaluated. Various doses of PDTC or MP were administered 1 h before the induction of pancreatitis. We demonstrated that Arg specifically and dose-dependently induces pancreatitis, activates NF-κB (only the 3 g/kg dose) and proinflammatory cytokine synthesis, and increases the expressions of HSP60 and HSP72 in the pancreas of rats. The lower dose of Arg induced a less severe pancreatitis, but larger increases in the levels of HSPs. The present work supports and extends earlier observations that NF-κB activation is a common mechanism in acute pancreatitis, although it is dose dependent and occurs at a later stage in Arg-induced pancreatitis as compared with other models. PDTC and MP pretreatment dose-dependently blocked NF-κB activation and proinflammatory cytokine expression and ameliorated many of the examined laboratory (the pancreatic weight/body weight ratio, the pancreatic myeloperoxidase activity, the pancreatic contents of protein, amylase and trypsinogen, the degrees of lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation, and the nonprotein sulfhydryl group content) and morphological parameters of the disease. These findings suggest that pretreatment with PDTC or MP has an anti-inflammatory effect during Arg-induced pancreatitis, which is at least partly mediated by the inhibition of NF-κB activation and proinflammatory cytokine synthesis. The increased levels of HSPs most probably act to limit the severity of the disease.