Inflammatory response on the pancreatic acinar cell injury

Acute pancreatitis is an inflammatory disorder, and inflammation not only affects the pathogenesis but also the course of the disease. Acinar cell injury early in acute pancre-atitis leads to a local inflammatory reaction; if marked this leads to a systemic inflam-matory response syndrome (SIRS). An excessive SIRS leads to distant organ damage and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). MODS associated with acute pan-creatitis is the primary cause of morbidity and mortality in this condition. Recent stud-ies by us and other investigators have established the critical role played by inflamma-tory mediators such as TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, CINC/GRO-α, MCP-1, PAF, IL-10, CD40L, C5a, ICAM-1, MIP1-α, RANTES, substance P, and hydrogen sulfide in acute pancreati-tis and the resultant MODS. This review intends to present an overview of the inflam-matory response that takes place following pancreatic acinar cell injury. Key words: Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome; adult respiratory distress syndrome; neurogenic inflammation; substance P; chemokines; leukocytes; cytokines Correspondence