Pancreatic and pulmonary mast cells activation during experimental acute pancreatitis.

AIM To study the activation of pancreatic and pulmonary mast cells and the effect of mast cell inhibition on the activation of peritoneal and alveolar macrophages during acute pancreatitis. METHODS Pancreatitis was induced by intraductal infusion of 5% sodium taurodeoxycholate in rats. The mast cell inhibitor cromolyn was administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) 30 min before pancreatitis induction. The pancreatic and pulmonary tissue damage was evaluated histologically and mast cells and their state of activation were evaluated. Peritoneal and alveolar macrophages were obtained and the expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha was determined. Myeloperoxidase activity was measured to evaluate the effect of mast cell inhibition on the progression of the inflammatory process. Finally, the effect of plasma on cultured mast cells or macrophages was evaluated in vitro. RESULTS The mast cell stabilizer significantly reduced inflammation in the pancreas and lung and the activation of alveolar macrophages but had no effect on peritoneal macrophages. Mast cell degranulation was observed in the pancreas during pancreatitis but no changes were observed in the lung. Plasma from rats with pancreatitis could activate alveolar macrophages but did not induce degranulation of mast cells in vitro. CONCLUSION Pancreatic mast cells play an important role in triggering the local and systemic inflammatory response in the early stages of acute pancreatitis. In contrast, lung mast cells are not directly involved in the inflammatory response related to pancreatic damage.