Atrial natriuretic peptide attenuates endoplasmic reticulum stress in experimental acute pancreatitis.

Increasing evidence shows that the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is an early event that injures pancreatic acinar cells and contributes to the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis. In the present work we sought to establish whether atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) alleviated ER stress in rats with cerulein-induced pancreatitis. The major components of the unfolded protein response (UPR) and their downstream effectors were assessed by immunoblotting or fluorimetry and the ultrastructure of ER evaluated by electron transmission microscopy.