Study of the Protective Effects of Dexamethasone on Ileum Mucosa Injury in Rats With Severe Acute Pancreatitis

Abstract

To study the protecting effects of dexamethasone on ileum mucosa injury of rats with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). The SAP rats were prepared by improved Aho's methods. The plasma endotoxin and inflammatory mediators in serum were determined. The rat mortality, pathological changes of terminal ileum, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB), apoptotic indexes, and apoptotic related protein expression were observed. The plasma endotoxin, inflammatory mediators, and NF-kappaB protein expression as well as pathological scores of the treatment group of ileum mucosa were lower than those of the model group at different time points. P selectin in model group significantly exceeded the dexamethasone treatment group at 3 and 6 hours (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). Caspase-3 protein expression in dexamethasone treatment group significantly exceeded the model group at 3 and 6 hours (P < 0.05), and apoptotic indexes were higher than those of the model group at 6 hours (P < 0.05), but Bax protein has shown no marked difference among groups. Dexamethasone can reduce the endotoxin level and inflammatory mediators and down-regulate NF-kappaB protein expression of ileum mucosa, and ileum mucosa epithelial cell apoptosis induction was involved as well. The tissue microarrays technique is of advantage in SAP study.