Involvement of Interleukin-17A in Pancreatic Damage in Rat Experimental Acute Necrotizing Pancreatitis

Interleukin (IL)-17A is a proinflammatory cytokine, which has recently attracted much interest due to its pathogenic role in various inflammatory conditions such as ischemia/reperfusion injury, chronic inflammation, and autoimmune diseases, but the role of IL-17A in acute pancreatitis remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the role of IL-17A in experimental acute necrotizing pancreatitis (ANP). We analyzed the expression of IL-17A during the pathogenesis of ANP in vivo induced by 3 % sodium taurocholate (NaTc), by microarray test, quantitative real-time PCR, Western blotting, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and immunohistochemistry. The effects of IL-17A on pancreatic acinar cells and pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) were further investigated in vitro using recombinant rat IL-17A (rIL-17A). Expression of IL-17A was significantly increased following experimental acute pancreatitis. In addition, rIL-17A induced rat pancreatic acinar cell necrosis and promoted expression of several target genes, including IL-6, IL-1β, CXCL1, CXCL2, and CXCL5, in acinar cells and PSCs. These findings suggest that IL-17A may be involved in pancreatic damage by regulating the expression of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines during experimental acute pancreatitis.