Pioglitazone pretreatment for acute necrotizing pancreatitis in rats

Objective To investigate the effect of pretreatment of pioglitazone on acute necrotizing pancreatitis (ANP) rats. Methods ANP was induced by retrograde injection of 5% sedinm deoxycholate into bilio-pancreatic ducts. The animals were randomly divided into ANP (n=18), sham operation (n=18) and pioglitazone pretreatment group (n=18). Pioglitazone was given 20 mg/kg in pioglitazone group before ANP was induced. The rats were sacrificed 3 h, 6 h, 12 h after ANP induction, respectively. Bblood samples were taken for serum amylase measurement. Tissue samples of pancreas were harvested for morphological observation under conventional light microscopy. Pathological change of pancreas was evaluated by Hughes and Kusske score system. Results The concentration of serum amylase and the pancreatic histological score in pioglitazone and ANP groups were significantly higher than those in sham operation group (P＜0.001 ). The concentration of serum amylase, Hughes and Kusske score in pioglitazone group at 12 h after ANP induction were (2980± 1080) U/L,4.50±2.07 and 7.50±1.05, respectively, and were lower than (7598±1072) U/L, 7.17±1.47 and 11.33±1.75 of ANP group at 12 h (P＜0.01). Conclusions Pioglitazone pretreatment could decrease the serum level of amylase and the pancreatic histological score. Pioglitazone may ameliorate the severity of ANP. Key words: Pancreatitis, acute necrotizing;  Thiazolidinediones;  Models, animal