Therapeutic effects of quercetin on early inflammation in hypertriglyceridemia-related acute pancreatitis and its mechanism.

Abstract Objective To investigate the therapeutic effects of quercetin on early-stage inflammation in hypertriglyceridemia (HTG)-related acute pancreatitis (AP) both in vivo and in vitro , and its possible mechanism. Methods In vivo , rats were fed a high-fat diet to induce HTG, and AP was induced by intraperitoneal injection of cerulein (50 μg/kg × 2). Quercetin (100, 150 and 200 mg/kg) was administered by intraperitoneal injection after AP induction. In vitro , rat exocrine acinar cells were preincubated with palmitic acid ( PA , 0.1 mmol/L, 6 h) with quercetin (5, 10, 20 and 40 μM) prior to a cholecystokinin analog CCK-8 (20 pM). Injury of the pancreas was assessed by amylase secretion and pancreatic histological evaluation. Inflammation was estimated by measuring IL-1β, IL-6, TNFα and NF-kB expression. Dynamic expression of IRE1α, sXBP1, C/EBPα and C/EBPβ was monitored by real-time PCR, immunofluorescence (IF) and western blot (WB). Results Quercetin intervention reduced plasma amylase level ( P P P Conclusions Quercetin attenuates early-stage inflammation in HTG-related AP, probably by reducing IRE1α, sXBP1, C/EBPα and C/EBPβ expression.