Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0030305 (pancreatitis)
 16,014 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The dually phosphorylated c-jun kinase and p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase, also termed stress kinases, are members of the MAP kinase family. They are activated early during cerulein pancreatitis induction and have been proposed as regulators during pancreatitis development by us and others. We recently showed that hyperthermia preconditioning induces expression of pancreatic heat-shock proteins (HSP) and protects against cerulein pancreatitis. Because it was further reported that HSP70 can prevent activation of stress kinases in lymphoid tumor cells, we investigated whether hyperthermia preconditioning might reduce hyperstimulation-mediated activation of pancreatic stress kinases. Pancreatic HSP expression was induced by whole-body hyperthermia preconditioning. Without prior HSP induction, cerulein led to a rapid and dose-dependent increase in serum lipase and amylase levels, pancreatic wet weight through edema formation, and activation of pancreatic MAP kinases. Hyperthermia preconditioning, although strongly inducing HSP70 and almost completely preventing edema formation, as well as the increase of serum amylase and lipase, did not reduce cerulein-mediated stress kinase activation. This indicates that in the pancreas, cerulein can strongly activate MAP kinases even when pancreatitis development is greatly inhibited, and that pancreatic HSPs do not inhibit activation of pancreatic stress kinases in vivo.
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PMID:Hyperthermia, inducing pancreatic heat-shock proteins, fails to prevent cerulein-induced stress kinase activation. 1043 62

During acute pancreatitis, protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) can be activated by interstitially released trypsin. In the mild form of pancreatitis, PAR2 activation exerts local protection against intrapancreatic damage, whereas, in the severe form of pancreatitis, PAR2 activation mediates some systemic complications. This study aimed to identify the molecular mechanisms of PAR2-mediated protective effects against intrapancreatic damage. A mild form of acute pancreatitis was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of caerulein (40 microg/kg) in rats. Effects of PAR2 activation on intrapancreatic damage and on mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase signaling were assessed. Caerulein treatment activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) within 15 min and maintained phosphorylation of ERK and JNK for 2 h in the rat pancreas. Although PAR2 activation by the pretreatment with PAR2-activating peptide (AP) itself increased ERK phosphorylation in rat pancreas, the same treatment remarkably decreased caerulein-induced activation of ERK and JNK principally by accelerating their dephosphorylation. Inhibition of ERK and JNK phosphorylation by the pretreatment with MAP/ERK kinase (MEK) or JNK inhibitors decreased caerulein-induced pancreatic damage that was similar to the effect induced by PAR2-AP. Notably, in caerulein-treated rats, PAR2-AP cotreatment highly increased the expression of a group of MAP kinase phosphatases (MKPs) that deactivate ERK and JNK. The above results imply that downregulation of MAP kinase signaling by MKP induction is a key mechanism involved in the protective effects of PAR2 activation on caerulein-induced intrapancreatic damage.
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PMID:PAR2 exerts local protection against acute pancreatitis via modulation of MAP kinase and MAP kinase phosphatase signaling. 1875 6

Two key pathologic acinar cell responses of acute pancreatitis are vacuole accumulation and trypsinogen activation. Degradation of long-lived proteins, a measure of autophagic efficiency, is markedly inhibited in pancreatitis. Further, processing of the lysosomal proteases cathepsin L (CatL) and CatB into their fully active, mature forms is reduced in pancreatitis, as are their activities in the lysosome-enriched subcellular fraction. These findings indicate that autophagy is retarded in pancreatitis due to deficient lysosomal degradation caused by impaired cathepsin processing. Trypsinogen activation occurred in pancreatitis and is prevented by inhibiting autophagy. A marker of trypsinogen activation partially localized to autophagic vacuoles, and pharmacologic inhibition of CatL increased the amount of active trypsin in acinar cells. The results suggest that retarded autophagy is associated with an imbalance between CatL, which degrades trypsinogen and trypsin, and CatB, which converts trypsinogen into trypsin, resulting in intra-acinar accumulation of active trypsin in pancreatitis. Thus, deficient lysosomal degradation may be a dominant mechanism for increased intra-acinar trypsin in pancreatitis. Proinflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress play a pivotal role in the early pathophysiological events of the disease. Cytokines such as interleukin 1beta and tumor necrosis factor alpha initiate and propagate almost all consequences of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome. On the other hand, depletion of pancreatic glutathione is an early hallmark of acute pancreatitis and reactive oxygen species are also associated with the inflammatory process. Changes in thiol homeostasis and redox signaling decisively contribute to amplification of the inflammatory cascade through mitogen activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) pathways.
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PMID:Pathophysiology of acute and infected pancreatitis. 2018 Jul 51

The endocannabinoid system has been shown to mediate beneficial effects on gastrointestinal inflammation via cannabinoid receptors 1 (CB(1)) and 2 (CB(2)). These receptors have also been reported to activate the MAP kinases p38 and c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK), which are involved in early acinar events leading to acute pancreatitis and induction of proinflammatory cytokines. Our aim was to examine the role of cannabinoid receptor activation in an experimental model of acute pancreatitis and the potential involvement of MAP kinases. Cerulein pancreatitis was induced in wild-type, CB(1)-/-, and MK2-/- mice pretreated with selective cannabinoid receptor agonists or antagonists. Severity of pancreatitis was determined by serum amylase and IL-6 levels, intracellular activation of pancreatic trypsinogen, lung myeloperoxidase activity, pancreatic edema, and histological examinations. Pancreatic lysates were investigated by Western blotting using phospho-specific antibodies against p38 and JNK. Quantitative PCR data, Western blotting experiments, and immunohistochemistry clearly show that CB(1) and CB(2) are expressed in mouse pancreatic acini. During acute pancreatitis, an upregulation especially of CB(2) on apoptotic cells occurred. The unselective CB(1)/CB(2) agonist HU210 ameliorated pancreatitis in wild-type and CB(1)-/- mice, indicating that this effect is mediated by CB(2). Furthermore, blockade of CB(2), not CB(1), with selective antagonists engraved pathology. Stimulation with a selective CB(2) agonist attenuated acute pancreatitis and an increased activation of p38 was observed in the acini. With use of MK2-/- mice, it could be demonstrated that this attenuation is dependent on MK2. Hence, using the MK2-/- mouse model we reveal a novel CB(2)-activated and MAP kinase-dependent pathway that modulates cytokine expression and reduces pancreatic injury and affiliated complications.
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PMID:Activation of cannabinoid receptor 2 reduces inflammation in acute experimental pancreatitis via intra-acinar activation of p38 and MK2-dependent mechanisms. 2313 24