Protective effect of wortmannin against pancreas and liver injuries induced by severe acute pancreatitis in rats

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(P0.01);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(P0.01).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.