Effect of edaravone on cyclooxygenase-2 expression of pancreatic tissues in severe acute pancreatitis rats

Objective To explore the effect of edaravone on cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) expression of pancreatic tissues in severe acute pancreatitis(SAP) rats.Methods Sixty Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups of S(sham operated),SAP(SAP model control) and E(treated with edaravone 8 mg/kg at 0 h,6 h and 12 h after SAP model established).The ascites volume,serum amylase activity,COX-2 expression in pancreatc tissues and histopathological changes were determined at 24 h after operation.Results The COX-2 expression in pancreatc tissues,ascites volume,serum amylase activity and histopathological changes were significantly higher in group SAP than those in group S(P0.01),which were lower in group E than those in group SAP(P0.05).The COX-2 expression of pancreatc tissues was positively correlated to the ascites volume,serum amylase activity and histopathological changes(P0.05 or P0.01).Conclusion There is a high expression of COX-2 protein in pancreatc tissues in SAP rats,which can be down-regulated by edaravone with reduced damage of the pancreas.