Role of immunological disorders in the pathophysiology of severe acute pancreatitis

Severe acute pancreatitis is a disease associated with high mortality, causes of which are multiple organ failure(MOF) in the early course and the development of bacterial infections in the later course. Inflammatory response leading to organ failure continues to be one of the major problem after acute pancreatitis. This review summarizes recent studies that demonstrate the critical role played by inflammatory mediators in acute pancreatitis. Immunological disorder, immune suppression, also plays a role at high risk of sepsis in the development of severe acute pancreatitis. We have to clarify the mechanism of immunological suppression in the development of bacterial infections in severe acute pancreatitis. It is important that the elucidation of key mediators in MOF and the mechanism of immune suppression in the development of bacterial infection could be improved by the prognosis of severe acute pancreatitis.