Polyethylene glycol 35 ameliorates pancreatic inflammatory response in cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis in rats

Figure 4 Effect of 35-kDa polyethylene glycol on inflammation-induced cell death in cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis and cultured pancreatic acinar AR42J cells. A: Plasma lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity after cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis expressed as mU/mL; B: Pancreatic protein expression of cleaved caspase-3 and BCL-2 assessed by western blot analysis. β-actin expression was used as loading control. Data shown are representative blots for each group; C: Densitometry quantification of western blot for cleaved caspase-3 and BCL-2 in pancreatic tissue; D: Cell death rate measured through LDH activity. AR42J cells pre-treated with increasing concentrations of PEG35 (0.5%, 1%, 2%, 4% or 6%) for 30 min and then co-incubated with 10nM cerulein for another 24 h or 100 ng/mL of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) for another 2.5 h; E: Cell viability rate determined by MTT assay. AR42J cells were pre-treated with increasing concentrations of PEG35, as indicated, for 30 min and then incubated with or without 2 µM or 4 µM staurosporine for another 24 h. The values shown represent the mean ± SEM. ^aP < 0.05 vs control, ^cP < 0.05 vs cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis, cerulein, TNFα or staurosporine. Each determination was carried out in triplicate. CerAP: Cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis; Cer: Cerulein; PEG35: 35-kDa polyethylene glycol; TNFα: Tumor necrosis factor α; ST: Staurosporine.