Tianjin Medical Journal ›› 2023, Vol. 51 ›› Issue (6): 613-617.doi: 10.11958/20221590

• Experimental Research • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The protective effect of urolithin A on severe acute pancreatitis through TLR4 / NF-κB signaling pathway

ZENG Jiayue1(), MA Xinyue1, MA Fengyu1, CHEN Xia1,2,   

  1. 1 Department of Gastroenterology, the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
    2 Department of Gastroenterology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College
  • Received:2022-09-28 Revised:2022-12-16 Published:2023-06-15 Online:2023-06-20
  • Contact: E-mail:970217858@qq.com

Abstract:

Objective To investigate the effect and its protective mechanism of urolithin A (UroA) on pancreatic injury in rats with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). Methods Thirty-six healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into the sham group, the SAP group and the UroA group, with 12 rats in each group. The SAP model was established by retrograde perfusion of 5% sodium taurocholate into biliopancreatic duct. The UroA group was given intervention 10 mg/kg by UroA once 6 h for 4 times immediately after operation. Twenty-four hours after modeling, the ascites volume was counted. Meanwhile, the serum lipase (LPS) level was detected. The serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the pathological injury of pancreatic tissue was detected by HE staining. The expression levels of IL-6, TNF-α, TLR4, MyD88 and NF-κB mRNA in pancreatic tissue were analyzed by RT-qPCR. The protein expressions of TLR4, MyD88 and NF-κB p65 in pancreatic tissue were detected by Western blot assay. Results Compared with the sham group, the serum levels of LPS, IL-6 and TNF-α increased in the SAP group (P<0.05), ascites volume and pancreatic pathological score increased (P<0.05) and the mRNA levels of IL-6, TNF-α, TLR4, MyD88, NF-κB and the protein expression of TLR4, MyD88, NF-κB p65 in pancreatic tissue were also up-regulated (P<0.05). Compared with the SAP group, the pancreatic pathological injury significantly improved in the UroA group. The serum levels of LPS, IL-6 and TNF-α were significant decreased. In addition, TLR4, MyD88, NF-κB protein and mRNA levels were decreased (P<0.05). Conclusion UroA can alleviate the pathological injury of pancreas in rats with SAP, and its mechanism may be related to inhibiting the activation of TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway, and thereby inhibiting inflammatory response.

Key words: pancreatitis, Toll-like receptor 4, NF-kappa B, urolithin A, severe acute pancreatitis

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