Objective To observe the changes of inflammation cytokines in pancreas tissues of experimental acute necrotizing pancreatitis (ANP) rats treated with rhubarb.MethodsThirty-three rats were randomly divided into sham operation group,ANP group and rhubarb treatment group with 11 rats in each group.ANP model was induced by retrograde injection of 3％ sodium taurocholate into the biliopancreatic duct,and jejunostomy was performed.Rats in rhubarb treatment group were fed with 1 g/ml rhubarb at the dose of 1 ml/kg body weight via jejunum route.Thirty-six hours later the rats were sacrificed.The serum level of amylase was measured; part of the pancreatic tissue was harvested for routine pathologic examination; total RNA was extracted from pancreatic tissue.The expression of IL-6,IL-8,and TNF-α mRNA was measured by real-time PCR.ResultsAfter ANP induction,the serum level of amylase was significantly increased,and pancreatic tissue necrosis,bleeding and inflammatory cell infiltration were observed,which was consistent with changes of ANP.The expressions of IL-6,IL-8,and TNF-α mRNA were 0.29 ±0.13,0.35 ±0.15,1.09 ±0.32 in sham operation group,while they were 2.23 ±0.49,2.26 ±0.51,5.24 ±0.59 in ANP group,which were significantly higher than those in sham operation group ( P ＜ 0.05 ).The corresponding values were 0.97 ±0.30,1.02 ±0.34,2.59 ±0.36 in rhubarb treatment group,which were significantly lower than those in ANP group,but they were still significantly higher than those in sham operation group ( P ＜ 0.05 ).ConclusionsRhubarb lavage via jejunum route can decrease the expressions of IL-6,IL-8,and TNF-α,therefore attenuate the pancreatic pathologic injuries.

Objective To investigate the methylation patterns of secreted apoptosis-related protein 2 (SARP2) gene extron 1 in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma and its clinical value in diagnosis and prognosis. Methods The samples were collected from 23 patients with pancreatic carcinoma, 6 with chronic pancreatitis and 7 normal controls. The extracted DNA was treated with sodium bisulfite and analyzed by PCR for methylation patterns in the CpG islands of SARP2 gene. Results The incidence of methylation in CpG islands of SARP2 gene was significant higher in pancreatic carcinoma (37.9%) than that in paracaneerous (15.2%), pancreatic (15.2%) and normal (0%) tissues (P<0.05). The methylation in some CpG sites (region 1) had specificity to pancreatic cancer. The methylation of SARP2 gene was not associated with sex, age, tumor size, stage and metastasis. But the hypermethylation of CpG was related with the tumor size and differentiation. Conclusions The distribution of CpG hypermethylation in SARP2 gene extron 1 is not equilibrium. Some CpG hypermethylation has specificity to pancreatic carcinoma, and may be served as potential targets as well as prognosis indexes for pancreatic cancer.