Activin in acute pancreatitis: Potential risk-stratifying marker and novel therapeutic target.

ABSTRACT: Acute Pancreatitis is a substantial health care challenge with increasing incidence. Patients who develop severe disease have considerable mortality. Currently, no reliable predictive marker to identify patients at risk for severe disease exists. Treatment is limited to rehydration and supporting care suggesting an urgent need to develop novel approaches to improve standard care. Activin is a critical modulator of inflammatory responses, but has not been assessed in pancreatitis. Here, we demonstrate that serum activin is elevated and strongly correlates with disease severity in two established murine models of acute pancreatitis induced by either cerulein or IL-12 + IL-18. Furthermore, in mice, inhibition of activin conveys survival benefits in pancreatitis. In addition, serum activin lev

SUBMITTER: Staudacher JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5630611 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature