Chronic stress sensitizes rats to pancreatitis induced by cerulein: Role of TNF-α

Figure 4 Pancreatic acinar cells secrete tumor necrosis factor-α in response to different stressful stimuli. A: Isolated pancreatic acini were cultured in normoxic (N) conditions for 3.5 h or under hypoxia followed by normoxia-reoxygenation (H/R) for 30 min and 3 h, respectively, in the absence or presence of N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) (30 mmol/L); B: Isolated pancreatic acini were cultured in Krebs-Ringer-HEPES (KRH) (vehicle-control) or stimulated with H₂O₂ (50 μmol/L) for 3 h in the absence or presence of NAC (30 mmol/L); A and B: TNF-α released into the supernatant was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using the respective assay kit. Results are expressed as fold of control and correspond to the mean ± SE from four independent experiments, with samples performed in triplicate. ^aP < 0.05 vs normoxia (A) or to KRH (B); ^cP < 0.05 vs H/R (A) or H₂O₂ (B).