2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Pathophysiology of alcohol-related pancreatic injury
| Project/Area Number |
15590703
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Gastroenterology
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| Research Institution | University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan |
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Principal Investigator |
TASHIRO Mitsuo University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, School of Medicine. Third Department of Internal Medicine., Assistant Professor., 医学部, 助手 (20341498)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TAGUCHI Masashi University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, School of Medicine. Third Department of Internal Medicine., Assistant Professor., 医学部, 助手 (80369058)
OTSUKI Makoto University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, School of Medicine. Third Department of Internal Medicine., Professor and Chair., 医学部, 教授 (00030916)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2006
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| Keywords | alcohol-related pancreatic injury / pancreatic stellate cells / antioxidant / matrix metalloproteinase |
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| Research Abstract |
Activated pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) play a central role in the pathogenesis of pancreatic fibrogenesis and inflammation. Ethanol, a major cause of chronic pancreatitis, directly induces PSC activation and oxidative stress. Inhibition of PSC activation or stimulation to PSC might be an effective therapeutic strategy for the prevention of pancreatic fibrosis, and (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a major component of green tea extracts, is a potent antioxidant of polyphenols. Therefore, we examined the mechanisms through which ethanol induces oxidative stress on PSCs and evaluated the effect of EGCG on activation and cell functions of ethanol-stimulated PSCs. The PSCs were isolated from the pancreas of male Wister rats with Nycodenz gradient methods and cells between passages one and four were used. Isolated PSCs were cultured with ethanol (50 mM) in the absence or presence of EGCG (5 microM or 25 microM). RESULTS : The EGCG pre-treatment abolished ethanol-induced lipid peroxidation of the cell membrane, loss of total superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and suppressed ethanol-induced gene expressions of Mn-and Cu/Zn-SOD. EGCG also suppressed ethanol-induced p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase phosphorylation, alpha-smooth muscle actin production in PSCs and activated transforming growth factor-beta1 secretion into the medium. Furthermore, EGCG inhibited ethanol-induced type-I procollagen production and collagen secretion. In addition, EGCG inhibited transformation of freshly isolated cells to activated myofibroblast-like phenotype. Our results suggest that green tea and polyphenols could prevent pancreatic fibrosis by inhibiting PSC activation through the antioxidative effect.
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