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

Extracellular regulated kinases (ERK1/2) and c-Jun N-terminal Kinases (JNK), are generally considered to play a key role in signal transduction pathways activated by a wide range of stimuli. We studied the effects of SP600125, a novel inhibitor of both JNK and ERK1/2, in male C57/BL6 mice given with an hyper-stimulating dose of cerulein (50 microg/kg for each of four injections at hourly intervals) to elicit secretagogue-induced pancreatitis. A control group received four intra-peritoneal injections of 0.9% saline at hourly intervals. Animals were randomized to receive either SP600125 (15 mg/kg i.p. administered 2 h before and 30 min after the first injection of cerulein) or its vehicle (1 ml/kg of a 10% DMSO/NaCl solution). A group of animals was killed 30 minutes after the last cerulein injection to evaluate pancreatic JNK and ERK1/2 activation by Western Blot analysis. Another group was sacrificed 2 hours after the last cerulein injection to evaluate serum lipase and amylase levels, pancreas oedema, pancreatic content of Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and the histological alterations. SP600125 inhibited almost totally JNK activation (90%) and partially ERK1/2 activation (45%), reduced the serum lipase and amylase levels and the degree of oedema, blunted the increased pancreatic content of TNF-alpha and ICAM-1 and protected against the histological damage. Our data confirm that both JNK and ERK1/2 activation plays a key role in acute pancreatitis and that SP600125 may represent a potential therapeutic approach to the treatment of patients at high risk of developing this life-threatening condition.
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PMID:Protective effects of SP600125 a new inhibitor of c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) in an experimental model of cerulein-induced pancreatitis. 1545 38

Protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2) is a widely expressed tethered ligand receptor that can be activated by trypsin and other trypsin-like serine proteases. In the exocrine pancreas, PAR-2 activation modulates acinar cell secretion of digestive enzymes and duct cell ion channel function. During acute pancreatitis, digestive enzyme zymogens, including trypsinogen, are activated within the pancreas. We hypothesized that trypsin, acting via PAR-2, might regulate the severity of that disease, and to test this hypothesis, we examined the effect of either genetically deleting or pharmacologically activating PAR-2 on the severity of secretagogue-induced experimental pancreatitis. We found that experimental acute pancreatitis is more severe in PAR-2(-/-) than in wild-type mice and that in vivo activation of PAR-2, achieved by parenteral administration of the PAR-2-activating peptide SLIGRL-NH2, reduces the severity of pancreatitis. In the pancreas during the early stages of pancreatitis, the MAPK ERK1/2 is activated and translocated to the nucleus, but nuclear translocation is reduced by activation of PAR-2. Our findings indicate that PAR-2 exerts a protective effect on pancreatitis and that activation of PAR-2 ameliorates pancreatitis, possibly by inhibiting ERK1/2 translocation to the nucleus. Our observations suggest that PAR-2 activation may be of therapeutic value in the treatment and/or prevention of severe clinical pancreatitis, and they lead us to speculate that, from a teleological standpoint, PAR-2 may have evolved in the pancreas as a protective mechanism designed to dampen the injurious effects of intrapancreatic trypsinogen activation.
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PMID:Protection against acute pancreatitis by activation of protease-activated receptor-2. 1545 25

Supramaximal stimulation of the rat pancreas with CCK, or its analog caerulein, triggers acute pancreatitis and a number of pancreatitis-associated acinar cell changes including intracellular activation of digestive enzyme zymogens and acinar cell injury. It is generally believed that some of these various acinar cell responses to supramaximal secretagogue stimulation are interrelated and interdependent. In a recent report, Lu et al. showed that secretin, by causing generation of cAMP and activation of PKA, sensitizes acinar cells to secretagogue-induced zymogen activation, and, as a result, submaximally stimulating concentrations of caerulein can, in the presence of secretin, trigger intracellular zymogen activation. We found that secretin also sensitizes acinar cells to secretagogue-induced cell injury and to subapical F-actin redistribution but that it did not alter the caerulein concentration dependence of other pancreatitis-associated changes such as the induction of a peak plateau intracellular [Ca(2+)] rise, inhibition of secretion, activation of ERK1/2, and activation of NF-kappaB. The finding that secretin sensitizes acinar cells to both intracellular zymogen activation and cell injury is consistent with the concept that these two early events in pancreatitis are closely interrelated and, possibly, interdependent. On the other hand, the finding that, in the presence of secretin, caerulein can trigger subapical F-actin redistribution without inhibiting secretion challenges the concept that disruption of the subapical F-actin web is causally related to high-dose secretagogue-induced inhibition of secretion in pancreatic acinar cells.
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PMID:Secretin differentially sensitizes rat pancreatic acini to the effects of supramaximal stimulation with caerulein. 1592 15

Pancreatic stellate cells (PSC) are now recognized as the key mediators of pancreatic fibrosis, a characteristic feature of chronic pancreatitis. The role of PSC in alcoholic pancreatic fibrosis has been examined in vivo (using pancreatic tissue from patients with alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis and from animal models of experimental pancreatitis) and in vitro (using PSC in culture). These studies indicate that PSC are activated early in the course of pancreatic injury and are the predominant source of collagen in the fibrotic pancreas. The factors responsible for mediating PSC activation during chronic alcohol exposure include ethanol, its metabolite acetaldehyde, oxidant stress and cytokines (released during episodes of alcohol-induced pancreatic necroinflammation). Most recently, the intracellular signaling mechanisms regulating ethanol-induced PSC activation have been identified and include the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase C (PKC), and the transcription factor activator protein-1 (AP-1).
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PMID:Battle-scarred pancreas: role of alcohol and pancreatic stellate cells in pancreatic fibrosis. 1695 84

We have hypothesized that the colocalization of digestive zymogens with lysosomal hydrolases, which occurs during the early stages of every experimental pancreatitis model, facilitates activation of those zymogens by lysosomal hydrolases such as cathepsin B and that this activation triggers acute pancreatitis by leading to acinar cell injury. Some, however, have argued that the colocalization phenomenon may be the result, rather than the cause, of zymogen activation during pancreatitis. To resolve this controversy and explore the causal relationships between zymogen activation and other early pancreatitis events, we induced pancreatitis in mice by repeated supramaximal secretagogue stimulation with caerulein. Some animals were pretreated with the cathepsin B inhibitor CA-074 me to inhibit cathepsin B, prevent intrapancreatic activation of digestive zymogens, and reduce the severity of pancreatitis. We show that inhibition of cathepsin B by pretreatment with CA-074 me prevents intrapancreatic zymogen activation and reduces organellar fragility, but it does not alter the caerulein-induced colocalization phenomenon or subcellular F-actin redistribution or prevent caerulein-induced activation of NF-kappaB, ERK1/2, and JNK or upregulated expression of cytochemokines. We conclude 1) that the colocalization phenomenon, F-actin redistribution, activation of proinflammatory transcription factors, and upregulated expression of cytochemokines are not the results of zymogen activation, and 2) that these early events in pancreatitis are not dependent on cathepsin B activity. In contrast, zymogen activation and increased subcellular organellar fragility during caerulein-induced pancreatitis are dependent on cathepsin B activity.
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PMID:Cause-effect relationships between zymogen activation and other early events in secretagogue-induced acute pancreatitis. 1733 71

The cholecystokine (CCK) analogue cerulein causes pathophysiological, morphological, and biochemical events similar to various aspects of human pancreatitis. Doses of CCK or cerulein beyond those that cause the maximum pancreatic secretion of amylase and lipase result in pancreatitis, which is characterized by a dysregulation of the digestive enzyme production and cytoplasmic vacuolization and the death of acinar cells, edema formation, and an infiltration of inflammatory cells into the pancreas. This study aims to investigate whether cerulein induces IL-8 expression in pancreatic acinar cells, and whether cerulein-induced IL-8 expression is inhibited in the cells transfected with mutant genes for c-jun (TAM-67), or IkappaBalpha (MAD-3) or treated inhibitors of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). As a result, cerulein induced IL-expression, which was inhibited in the cells transfected with TAM-67 or MAD-3 or treated inhibitors of MAPK. In conclusion, activation of MAPK, nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), and activator protein-1 (AP-1) may be the upstream signaling for cerulein-induced IL-8 expression in pancreatic acinar cells.
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PMID:Role of mitogen-activated protein kinases, NF-kappaB, and AP-1 on cerulein-induced IL-8 expression in pancreatic acinar cells. 1738 81

Pancreatic and lung inflammation during acute pancreatitis is a poorly understood, but clinically important, phenomenon. The proto-oncogene Tpl2 (tumor progression locus-2) has recently been shown to have important immunomodulatory effects on some inflammatory processes, but its importance to pancreatitis has not been previously examined. Our studies were designed to (a) define the effects of Tpl2 on pancreatic and lung inflammation during pancreatitis and (b) identify mechanisms and cell types responsible for those effects. We examined pancreatitis-associated Tpl2 effects in wild type and Tpl2(-/-) mice subjected to either secretagogue-induced or bile salt-induced pancreatitis. To determine the myeloid or non-myeloid lineage of cells responsible for the Tpl2 effects, we used Tpl2(-/-) chimeric mice generated by lethal irradiation followed by bone marrow transplantation. Mechanisms responsible for the effects of Tpl2 ablation on caerulein-induced proinflammatory events were evaluated under in vivo and in vitro conditions using the techniques of electrophoretic mobility shift assay, immunoblot analysis, and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. We found that Tpl2 ablation markedly reduced pancreatic and lung inflammation in these two dissimilar models of pancreatitis, but it did not alter pancreatic injury/necrosis in either model. The reduction in caerulein-induced pancreatic inflammation is dependent upon Tpl2 ablation in non-myeloid cells and is associated with both in vivo and in vitro inhibition of MEK, JNK, and AP-1 activation and the expression of MCP-1, MIP-2, and interleukin-6. Non-myeloid cell expression of Tpl2 regulates pancreatic inflammation during pancreatitis by mediating proinflammatory signals and the generation of neutrophil chemoattracting factors.
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PMID:Tumor progression locus-2 is a critical regulator of pancreatic and lung inflammation during acute pancreatitis. 1753 24

Protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR2) is a 7-transmembrane G-protein-coupled tethered ligand receptor that is expressed by pancreatic acinar and ductal cells. It can be physiologically activated by trypsin. Previously reported studies (Namkung, W., Han, W., Luo, X., Muallem, S., Cho, K. H., Kim, K. H., and Lee, M. G. (2004) Gastroenterology 126, 1844-1859; Sharma, A., Tao, X., Gopal, A., Ligon, B., Andrade-Gordon, P., Steer, M. L., and Perides, G. (2005) Am. J. Physiol. 288, G388-G395) have shown that PAR2 activation exerts a protective effect on the experimental model of pancreatitis induced by supramaximal secretagogue (caerulein) stimulation. We now show that PAR2 exerts a worsening effect on a different model of experimental pancreatitis, i.e. one induced by retrograde pancreatic ductal infusion of bile salts. In vitro studies using freshly prepared pancreatic acini show that genetic deletion of PAR2 reduces bile salt-induced pathological calcium transients, acinar cell injury, and activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase, whereas genetic deletion of PAR2 has the opposite or no effect on these pancreatitis-related events when they are elicited, in vitro, by caerulein stimulation. Studies employing a combination of trypsin inhibition and activation of PAR2 with the activating peptide SLIGRL show that all these differences indeed depend on the activation of PAR2. These studies are the first to report that a single perturbation can have model-specific and opposite effects on pancreatitis, and they underscore the importance of performing mechanistic pancreatitis studies using two dissimilar models of the disease to detect idiosyncratic, model-specific events. We suggest PAR2 activation exerts a worsening effect on the severity of clinical pancreatitis and that interventions interfering with PAR2 activation may be of benefit in the treatment of patients with severe pancreatitis.
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PMID:Protease-activated receptor-2 exerts contrasting model-specific effects on acute experimental pancreatitis. 1851 23

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

Few studies have addressed the expression profiles associated with progression of pancreatic cancer to advanced disease. Towards this end, we performed expression profiling of a series of normal pancreas, pancreatitis and cancer tissues representing early stage resected pancreatic cancers (stages pT2/T3), late stage unresectable cancers (stage pT4) and matched metastases to a variety of organ sites. Microarray data was analyzed using linear modeling of microarray data (LIMMA), and differentially expressed genes were subjected to Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). While robust differences were found in primary cancers as compared to normal pancreatic tissues, no differences were found between primary cancers and metastases, whether using matched or unmatched samples. When resected pancreatic cancers were specifically compared to advanced pancreatic cancers, significant differences in gene expression were found associated with growth at the primary site. These differentially expressed genes were most prominent in gene classes that related to MAPK and Wnt pathway, metabolism, immune regulation, cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions within the infiltrating carcinoma. One candidate upregulated gene (MXI1) was validated as having increased expression in advanced stage (T4) carcinomas by real-time PCR (p<0.05) and immunolabeling (p<0.003). We conclude that in addition to the robust changes in expression that accompany pancreatic carcinogenesis additional specific changes occur in association with growth at the primary site. By contrast, metastatic spread is not accompanied by reproducible changes in gene expression. These findings add to our understanding of pancreatic cancer and offer new topics for investigation into the aggressive nature of this deadly tumor type.
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PMID:Gene expression profiles associated with advanced pancreatic cancer. 1878 21


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