Serine Peptidase Inhibitor, Kazal Type 1 Research Articles

Identification of genes differentially expressed in menstrual breakdown and repair.

Does the changing molecular profile of the endometrium during menstruation correlate with the histological profile of menstruation. We identified several genes not previously associated with menstruation; on Day 2 of menstruation (early-menstruation), processes related to inflammation are predominantly up-regulated and on Day 4 (late-menstruation), the endometrium is predominantly repairing and regenerating. Menstruation is induced by progesterone withdrawal at the end of the menstrual cycle and involves endometrial tissue breakdown, regeneration and repair. Perturbations in the regulation of menstruation may result in menstrual disorders including abnormal uterine bleeding. Endometrial samples were collected by Pipelle biopsy on Days 2 (n=9), 3 (n=9) or 4 (n=6) of menstruation. RNA was extracted from endometrial biopsies and analysed by genome wide expression Illumina Sentrix Human HT12 arrays. Data were analysed using 'Remove Unwanted Variation-inverse(RUV-inv)'. Ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) and the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) v6.7 were used to identify canonical pathways, upstream regulators and functional gene clusters enriched between Days 2, 3 and 4 of menstruation. Selected individual genes were validated by quantitative PCR. Overall, 1753 genes were differentially expressed in one or more comparisons. Significant canonical pathways, gene clusters and upstream regulators enriched during menstrual bleeding included those associated with immune cell trafficking, inflammation, cell cycle regulation, extracellular remodelling and the complement and coagulation cascade. We provide the first evidence for a role for glutathione-mediated detoxification (glutathione-S-transferase mu 1 and 2; GSTM1 andGSTM2) during menstruation. The largest number of differentially expressed genes was between Days 2 and 4 of menstruation (n=1176). We identified several genes not previously associated with menstruation including lipopolysaccharide binding protein, serpin peptidase inhibitor, clade B (ovalbumin), member 3 (SERPINB3) and -4 (SERPINB4), interleukin-17C (IL17C), V-set domain containing T-cell activation inhibitor 1 (VTCN1), proliferating cell nuclear antigen factor (KIAA0101/PAF), trefoil factor 3 (TFF3), laminin alpha 2 (LAMA2) and serine peptidase inhibitor, Kazal type 1 (SPINK1). Genes related to inflammatory processes were up-regulated on Day 2 (early-menstruation), and those associated with endometrial repair and regeneration were up-regulated on Day 4 (late-menstruation). Participants presented with a variety of endometrial pathologies related to bleeding status and other menstrual characteristics. These variations may also have influenced the menstrual process. The temporal molecular profile of menstruation presented in this study identifies a number of genes not previously associated with the menstrual process. Our findings provide valuable insight into the menstrual process and may present novel targets for therapeutic intervention in cases of endometrial dysfunction. All microarray data have been deposited in the public data repository Gene Expression Omnibus (GSE86003). Funding for this work was provided by a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Project Grant APP1008553 to M.H., P.R. and J.G. M.H. is supported by an NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship. P.P. is supported by a NHMRC Early Career Fellowship. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

SPINK1 promotes colorectal cancer progression by downregulating Metallothioneins expression.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in the world, and second leading cause of cancer deaths in the US. Although, anti-EGFR therapy is commonly prescribed for CRC, patients harboring mutations in KRAS or BRAF show poor treatment response, indicating an ardent demand for new therapeutic targets discovery. SPINK1 (serine peptidase inhibitor, Kazal type 1) overexpression has been identified in many cancers including the colon, lung, breast and prostate. Our study demonstrates the functional significance of SPINK1 in CRC progression and metastases. Stable knockdown of SPINK1 significantly decreases cell proliferation, invasion and soft agar colony formation in the colon adenocarcinoma WiDr cells. Conversely, an increase in these oncogenic phenotypes was observed on stimulation with SPINK1-enriched conditioned media (CM) in multiple benign models such as murine colonic epithelial cell lines, MSIE and YAMC (SPINK3-negative). Mechanistically, SPINK1 promotes tumorigenic phenotype by activating phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K/AKT) and mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK) signaling pathways, and the SPINK1-positive WiDr cells are sensitive to AKT and MEK inhibitors. Importantly, SPINK1 silencing mediated upregulation of various Metallothionein isoforms, considered as tumor suppressors in CRC, confer sensitivity to doxorubicin, which strengthens the rationale for using the combinatorial treatment approach for the SPINK1-positive CRC patients. Furthermore, in vivo studies using chicken chorioallantoic membrane assay, murine xenograft studies and metastasis models further suggest a pivotal role of SPINK1 in CRC progression and metastasis. Taken together, our study demonstrates an important role for the overexpressed SPINK1 in CRC disease progression, a phenomenon that needs careful evaluation towards effective therapeutic target development.

Integrated traditional Chinese medicine improves acute pancreatitis via the downregulation of PRSS1 and SPINK1.

Integrated traditional Chinese medicine (ITCM) is known to improve health in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP); however, the molecular mechanisms underlying this effect are unknown. AP is associated with the expression of PRSS1 and SPINK1. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate whether ITCM was able to ameliorate AP by regulating the expression levels of protein, serine 1 (PRSS1) and serine peptidase inhibitor, Kazal type 1 (SPINK1). A total of 100 AP patients were divided at random into two groups. The treatment group were treated externally with a herbal ITCM preparation, while the control group received a routine placebo treatment. The mRNA and protein expression levels of PRSS1 and SPINK1 were subsequently compared between the two groups. The results revealed that the health of the patients who had received ITCM improved significantly when compared with the control group patients (P<0.05). In addition, the expression levels of PRSS1 and SPINK1 were found to be lower in the treatment group when compared with the control group (P<0.05). Therefore, ITCM exhibited a significant therapeutic effect on AP and produced no side effects since the treatment was applied externally. ITCM may ameliorate AP by downregulating the expression of PRSS1 and SPINK1; thus, should be considered as a potential therapy for the development of drugs against AP.

Clinical value of ERG, TFF3, and SPINK1 for molecular subtyping of prostate cancer.

In view of the marked molecular heterogeneity of prostate cancer (PCa), clinical and pathologic parameters alone may be unreliable for predicting disease outcomes after surgical intervention. The development of biomarkers may be helpful to estimate tumor heterogeneity and stratify patients in terms of their risk of progression. Levels of v-ets avian erythroblastosis virus E26 oncogene homolog (ERG), trefoil factor 3 (TFF3), and serine peptidase inhibitor, Kazal type 1 (SPINK1) are commonly elevated in PCa, but it is unclear whether the evaluation of these 3 markers can help to discriminate patients who will have different clinical outcomes. The authors investigated whether assessment of ERG, TFF3, and SPINK1 expression could help to define clinically relevant, distinct subsets of patients with PCa. The cohort consisted of 279 men with PCa who underwent radical prostatectomy at Henri Mondor Hospital. Expression levels of ERG, TFF3, and SPINK1 were evaluated immunohistochemically in the prostatectomy specimens. Potential associations of ERG, TFF3, and SPINK1 with age, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), tumor stage, Gleason score, and biochemical recurrence, defined by PSA failure, were investigated. Although prognostic significance was not observed for ERG or TFF3, an exclusive pattern of expression was demonstrated for TFF3 and ERG. SPINK1 expression was observed exclusively in a subgroup of cancers that expressed TFF3 (41 of 175 tumors). Moreover, SPINK1 positivity was identified as predictive of biochemical recurrence in univariate (P = .0009) and multivariate (P = .0003) analyses. The current results suggest that ERG and TFF3 characterize 2 distinct subsets of PCa, with a more aggressive subgroup of TFF3-expressing tumors that express SPINK1. Together, these findings support a rationale of screening for these biomarkers for prognostic purposes and molecular subtyping of the disease.

Pancreatitis in Severe Hypertriglyceridemia: Association of Gene Variants in Lipoprotein Lipase and Serine Protease Pathways with Increased Risk of Recurrent Hospitalizations*

Lead Author’s Financial Disclosures: None Study Funding: Yes Funding Sources: This study was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research team grant (# CTP-82941). Background/Synopsis: There are important inter-individual variations in the incidence and severity of acute pancreatitis in patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia. Several genes involved in triglyceride-rich lipoprotein metabolism or serine proteases pathways are known to influence the risk of pancreatitis. Objective/Purpose: To evaluate the association between genes regulating serine proteases, chymotrypsin C (CTRC) and serine peptidase inhibitor kazal type1 (SPINK1), and recurrence of hospitalizations for acute pancreatitis or severe abdominal pain in patients with Lipoprotein Lipase deficiency (LPLD), a rare and extreme monogenic model of severe hypertriglyceridemia and pancreatitis. Methods: The CTRC and SPINK1 genes promoter and coding regions sequencing has been performed in a sample of 38 LPLD adults (22 men and 16 women) and 100 controls (53 men and 47 women). Estimation of the association of CTRC and SPINK1 gene variants or combinations of variants with history of hospitalizations for pancreatitis or acute abdominal pain in LPLD was investigated using non parametric analyses with correction for multiple testing and logistic regression models controlling for age, gender, family history and life habits. Results: In LPLD (mean age 50 y 6 16), 18 individuals (47%) presented a history of $5 hospitalizations for acute pancreatitis or severe abdominal pain whereas 8 (21%) had not yet been hospitalized once for this condition. Gene sequencing followed by genotype-stratified analyses of the CTRC and SPINK1 genes in LPLD and controls revealed a positive association between recurrence of hospitalizations and the rs545634 (CTRC) rs11319 (SPINK1) combination (OR 5 41.4 [CI: 2.0-848.0]; p50.016). In all models, a positive family history of pancreatitis was a significant predictor of recurrent hospitalizations independently of the contribution of SPINK1 or CTRC (p,0.001). Conclusion: These results suggest that a positive family history of pancreatitis and genetic markers in the serine protease pathways could be associated with a risk of recurrent hospitalization for acute pancreatitis in severe hypertriglyceridemia due to LPLD. 121 Association Between Fasting Triglycerides and Presence of Fasting Chylomicrons in Patients with Severe Hypertriglyceridemia

Association of CTRC and SPINK1 gene variants with recurrent hospitalizations for pancreatitis or acute abdominal pain in lipoprotein lipase deficiency.

Background: There are important inter-individual variations in the incidence and severity of acute pancreatitis in patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia. Several genes involved in triglyceride-rich lipoprotein metabolism or serine proteases pathways are known to influence the risk of pancreatitis.Aim: To evaluate the association between genes regulating serine proteases, chymotrypsin C (CTRC) and serine peptidase inhibitor kazal type1 (SPINK1), and recurrence of hospitalizations for acute pancreatitis or severe abdominal pain in patients with Lipoprotein Lipase Deficiency (LPLD), a rare and extreme monogenic model of severe hypertriglyceridemia and pancreatitis.Method: The CTRC and SPINK1 genes promoter and coding regions sequencing has been performed in a sample of 38 LPLD adults (22 men and 16 women) and 100 controls (53 men and 47 women). Estimation of the association of CTRC and SPINK1 gene variants or combinations of variants with history of hospitalizations for pancreatitis or acute abdominal pain in LPLD was investigated using non-parametric analyses with correction for multiple testing and logistic regression models controlling for age, gender, family history, and life habits.Results: Gene sequencing followed by genotype-stratified analyses of the CTRC and SPINK1 genes in LPLD and controls revealed a positive association between recurrence of hospitalizations and the rs545634 (CTRC)—rs11319 (SPINK1) combination [OR = 41.4 (CI: 2.0–848.0); p = 0.016]. In all models, a positive family history of pancreatitis was a significant predictor of recurrent hospitalizations independently of the contribution of SPINK1 or CTRC (p < 0.001).Conclusion: These results suggest that a positive family history of pancreatitis and genetic markers in the serine protease pathways could be associated with a risk of recurrent hospitalization for acute pancreatitis in severe hypertriglyceridemia due to LPLD.

SPINK1 expression is tightly linked to 6q15- and 5q21-deleted ERG-fusion negative prostate cancers but unrelated to PSA recurrence

The serine peptidase inhibitor, Kazal type 1 (SPINK1) has been suggested to define an aggressive molecular subtype of ERG-fusion negative prostate cancer. It was the aim of this study to further study the clinical relevance of SPINK1 expression and its relationship with other key genomic alterations of prostate cancer. A tissue microarray containing more than 10,000 prostate cancers with clinical follow-up was used for immunohistochemical SPINK1 analysis. Data on ERG status as well as PTEN, 6q, 5q, and 3p deletions were available for comparison. SPINK1 expression was absent in benign prostate glands and detectable in 5.9% of 9,503 interpretable prostate cancers. Presence of SPINK1 expression was markedly more frequent in ERG negative (10.4%) than in ERG positive cancers (0.3%; P < 0.0001). However, SPINK1 expression was unrelated to tumor phenotype and biochemical recurrence in all cancers and in the subgroup of ERG negative cancers. Further subgroup analyses revealed, however, that--within ERG negative cancers--SPINK1 expression was significantly linked to deletions at 6q15 (P < 0.0001) and 5q21 (P = 0.0042). Our results exclude SPINK1 as a relevant prognostic prostate cancer biomarker. However, the data demonstrate that SPINK1 overexpression is tightly linked to the small subsets of 6q15- and 5q21-deleted ERG negative prostate cancers. These findings support the concept of molecularly defined subtypes of prostate cancers.

Global gene expression profiling reveals SPINK1 as a potential hepatocellular carcinoma marker.

BackgroundLiver cirrhosis is the most important risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but the role of liver disease aetiology in cancer development remains under-explored. We investigated global gene expression profiles from HCC arising in different liver diseases to test whether HCC development is driven by expression of common or different genes, which could provide new diagnostic markers or therapeutic targets.Methodology and Principal FindingsGlobal gene expression profiling was performed for 4 normal (control) livers as well as 8 background liver and 7 HCC from 3 patients with hereditary haemochromatosis (HH) undergoing surgery. In order to investigate different disease phenotypes causing HCC, the data were compared with public microarray repositories for gene expression in normal liver, hepatitis C virus (HCV) cirrhosis, HCV-related HCC (HCV-HCC), hepatitis B virus (HBV) cirrhosis and HBV-related HCC (HBV-HCC). Principal component analysis and differential gene expression analysis were carried out using R Bioconductor. Liver disease-specific and shared gene lists were created and genes identified as highly expressed in hereditary haemochromatosis HCC (HH-HCC) were validated using quantitative RT-PCR. Selected genes were investigated further using immunohistochemistry in 86 HCC arising in liver disorders with varied aetiology. Using a 2-fold cut-off, 9 genes were highly expressed in all HCC, 11 in HH-HCC, 270 in HBV-HCC and 9 in HCV-HCC. Six genes identified by microarray as highly expressed in HH-HCC were confirmed by RT qPCR. Serine peptidase inhibitor, Kazal type 1 (SPINK1) mRNA was very highly expressed in HH-HCC (median fold change 2291, p = 0.0072) and was detected by immunohistochemistry in 91% of HH-HCC, 0% of HH-related cirrhotic or dysplastic nodules and 79% of mixed-aetiology HCC.ConclusionHCC, arising from diverse backgrounds, uniformly over-express a small set of genes. SPINK1, a secretory trypsin inhibitor, demonstrated potential as a diagnostic HCC marker and should be evaluated in future studies.

Prognostic value of SPINK1 expression in bladder cancer after radical cystectomy.

274 Background: Serine peptidase inhibitor Kazal type 1 (SPINK1) overexpression has been associated with poor outcomes. In one small study, loss of SPINK1 expression in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) was associated with advanced tumor stage. We assessed the expression of SPINK1 in normal urothelium and UCB and analysed the association of SPINK1 with pathological features and clinical outcomes of patients treated with radical cystectomy (RC). Methods: The study used TMAs containing samples from 438 consecutive UCB patients treated with RC. 62 cases of normal urothelium were included as controls. A monoclonal antibody was used for immunohistochemical SPINK1 staining. SPINK1 expression of UCB was evaluated by two pathologists, blind to clinical outcome. Samples demonstrating less than 50% staining extent and 0 to 1 intensity (scale 0 to 3), were considered to have loss of expression. Results: SPINK1 expression was noted in umbrella cells of normal urothelium in 32/62 controls (52%). UCB of 254 patients (57.9%) exhibited loss of SPINK1 expression. Loss of SPINK1 expression was significantly associated with advanced pathological stage (p=0.002) and presence of lymph node (LN) metastasis (p=0.04). Within a median follow-up of 130 month (IQR 98.4), loss of SPINK1 expression was associated with an increased risk of disease recurrence (5-year RFS: 52±3 vs. 61±4 months; p=0.02) and cancer-specific mortality (5-year CSS: 59±3 vs. 68±3 months; p=0.03). In multivariable Cox regression analyses that adjusted for the effects of age, gender, tumor stage and grade, concomitant CIS, LN status and adjuvant chemotherapy, SPINK1 was not associated with disease recurrence (p=0.09) or cancer-specific death (p=0.12). Conclusions: While umbrella cells in normal urothelium commonly expresses SPINK1, more than half of UCB specimen exhibit loss of SPINK1 expression. Loss of SPINK1 expression is strongly correlated with local disease stage and LN metastasis. SPINK1 revealed no independent prognostic value for outcome prognostication, but it is a very promising marker for tumor staging which could be used for tailored follow-up protocols and possibly as a target for therapy as it has similarities with epidermal growth factor.

Phase II study of cytarabine in men with docetaxel‐refractory, castration‐resistant prostate cancer with evaluation of TMPRSS2‐ERG and SPINK1 as serum biomarkers

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? To date, there has been limited impetus to examine the use of cytarabine in prostate cancer. We presented preliminary laboratory data to suggest its utility in the castration refractory prostate cancer (CRPC) population which, combined with a previous case report, suggested it may have hitherto unrecognized utility in this setting. Embedded in this study was peripheral blood sampling for TMPRSS2-ERG and SPINK1, two genes that are believed to define prostate cancer genotypes, to assess their utility as biomarkers This study suggests that at the delivered doses, cytarabine has limited efficacy and significant myelotoxicity suggesting, it does not have a role in the treatment of docetaxel-refractory CRPC. The presence of serum TMPRSS2-ERG and SPINK1 mRNA biomarkers recovered from blood suggest that their analysis is worthy of further study. To run a phase II clinical trial of cytarabine in men with docetaxel-refractory, castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), based on evidence that cytarabine might be effective in men with abnormalities of ERG oncogenes. To measure mRNA levels of prostate cancer-related genes in blood as biomarkers. Ten of a planned maximum of 30 men received i.v. cytarabine at doses of 0.25-1g/m(2) at 21-day intervals. The primary endpoint was prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response. Archival tumour samples were assessed by fluorescence in-situ hybridization for TMPRSS2:ERG translocation, and by immunohistochemistry for serine peptidase inhibitor Kazal type 1 (SPINK1). Blood was processed for mRNA quantification of TMPRSS2:ERG (exon1:exon4), SPINK1 and PSA. A PSA response was not observed in any patient. The trial was stopped at the end of stage 1 of a modified Flemming design. The median number of cycles administered was 3. Grade 3-4 haematological toxicity was common. Five patients were subsequently excluded from the study for toxicity, and five for disease progression. Analysis of whole blood mRNA for T1:E4 translocation in TMPRSS2:ERG was consistent with that in the tumour in 8/9 evaluable cases (one was concordantly positive, seven were concordantly negative), SPINK1 results were concordant in 9/10 cases (two were concordantly positive, seven were concordantly negative [P = 0.047 for the predictive value]). There was no correlation between PSA or SPINK protein and their respective mRNA copy levels in blood. Cytarabine at the doses used is ineffective for men with CRPC. Blood mRNA levels of prostate cancer genes may represent a novel aspect of monitoring prostate cancer and have implications for the understanding of tumour-derived mRNA.

Abstract A28: Correlation of ERG expression with other genetic and expression abnormalities in prostate cancer

Abstract Fusion between TMPRSS2 (transmembrane protease, serine 2) and ERG (v-ets erythroblastosis virus E26 oncogene like (avian)) (TMPRSS2:ERG) is the most commonly found genetic alteration in prostate cancer and is found in 35–50% of all cases. TMPRSS2 is induced by the androgen receptor (AR). Fusion with TMPRSS2 renders ERG androgen inducible, causing most of its overexpression in prostate cancer. Studies suggest that SPINK1 (serine peptidase inhibitor, Kazal type 1) expression is exclusive to TMPRSS2:ERG fusion negative tumors, PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog) and TP53 (tumor protein p53) deletions are enriched in fusion positive tumors, a small region in chromosome 3p14 (including three possible tumor suppressor genes, FOX1, RYBP and SHQ1) is specifically deleted in a subset of fusion positive tumors, and that AR expression is down regulated in fusion positive tumors. Correlation with EZH2 (enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (Drosophila)) and Ki-67 (antigen identified by monoclonal antibody Ki-67) expression has also been suggested. To confirm these correlations we used fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) techniques in our sample material, which consisted of 330 prostatectomy samples and 150 locally recurrent castration resistant prostate cancers (CRPC). About half of the prostatectomy (47%, 107/230) and CRPC (45%, 70/156) samples showed positive ERG staining and ERG positivity was significantly associated with longer progression-free survival (p=0.0001, Log rank test) compared to ERG negative cases. Positive SPINK1 expression was seen in 14% (34/243) of the prostatectomy samples and in 12% (17/138) of the CRPC tumors. SPINK1 was almost exclusively expressed in ERG negative tumors (in prostatectomies p&amp;lt;0.0001 and in CRPCs p=0.0132, Fisher's exact test). High AR staining was seen in 82% (206/252) of the prostatectomy samples and in 93% (127/136) of the CRPC tumors. In prostatectomy samples, AR expression was significantly associated with ERG positivity (p&amp;lt;0.0001, Fisher's exact test). Low PTEN expression was seen in 15% (42/282) of the prostatectomy samples and in 45% (55/122) of the CRPC tumors. In CRPC tumors, but not in prostatectomy samples, loss of PTEN expression was associated with ERG positivity (p=0.0035, Fisher's exact test). Low PTEN expression was significantly associated with shorter progression-free survival compared to PTEN positive tumors (p=0.0133, Log rank test). Deletion of TP53 was seen in 8% (19/237) of the prostatectomy samples and in 18% (25/140) of the CRPC tumors. Deletion of chromosome region 3p14 was seen in approximately 4% of both prostatectomy (8/229) and CRPC (5/118) samples. Neither of these deletions was associated with ERG positivity. Analysis of Ki-67 and EZH2 staining is ongoing. SPINK1 was almost exclusively expressed in ERG negative samples, and the association was statistically significant in both the prostatectomy samples and the locally recurrent CRPC samples. PTEN loss of expression was associated with ERG positivity in the CRPC samples, but not in the prostatectomy samples, indicating that this late event occurs preferentially in ERG positive cases. High AR expression was statistically significantly associated with ERG positivity. Since there shouldn't be any ERG expression from TMPRSS2:ERG fusion gene without AR, the results are in line with the known regulatory mechanisms of TMPRSS2:ERG. Contrary to previous reports, the specific deletions of 3p14 or TP53 were not enriched in the ERG positive samples. TP53 deletion was more frequent in the advanced disease. Citation Format: Katri A. Leinonen, Teuvo L.J. Tammela, Outi R. Saramäki, Tapio Visakorpi. Correlation of ERG expression with other genetic and expression abnormalities in prostate cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Prostate Cancer Research; 2012 Feb 6-9; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(4 Suppl):Abstract nr A28.

Association of Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) Mutation/Variant/Haplotype and Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) Promoter Polymorphism in Hyperlipidemic Pancreatitis

The mechanism by which hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) leads to pancreatitis is not clear. We sought to determine whether the genes involved in pancreatic ductal or acinar cell injury, including the cationic trypsinogen gene [protease, serine, 1 (trypsin 1) (PRSS1)], the pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor gene [serine peptidase inhibitor, Kazal type 1 (SPINK1)], the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene [cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (ATP-binding cassette subfamily C, member 7) (CFTR)], and inflammation genes such as tumor necrosis factor [tumor necrosis factor, TNF superfamily, member 2 (TNF)] are associated with hyperlipidemic pancreatitis (HLP) in patients with HTG. We performed genetic analysis of 126 HTG patients in Taiwan (46 with HLP and 80 without HLP). The entire coding and intronic regions of the PRSS1, SPINK1, and CFTR genes were identified by heteroduplex analysis techniques and were confirmed by sequencing analysis. The presence of 125G/C, 1001 + 11C>T, 1540A>G (Met470Val), 2694T>G, and 4521G>A in CFTR, the presence of 272C>T in SPINK1, and TNF promoter polymorphisms (nucleotide positions 1031, 863, 857, 308, and 308) were measured by direct sequencing. Of the 126 HTG patients, 13 (10.3%) carried a CFTR mutation. No PRSS1 or SPINK1 mutations were detected in our patients or in HTG controls. The CFTR gene mutation rates in HTG with and without HLP were 26.1% (12 of 46) and 1.3% (1 of 80), respectively (P <0.0001). The CFTR gene mutations were all Ile556Val. A multivariate analysis of HTG patients indicated that triglycerides, CFTR 470Val, and TNF promoter 863A were independent risk markers for HLP. This genetic study is the first one to address the association of HLP with the CFTR mutation/variant/haplotype and TNF promoter polymorphism in a Chinese HTG population. The results suggest that the occurrence of HLP is multifactorial and polygenic.