Hereditary, familial, and idiopathic chronic pancreatitis are not associated with polymorphisms in the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) promoter region or the TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) gene.

Purpose: Genetic alterations that are associated with acute and chronic pancreatitis remain to be identified.

Methods: The authors investigated two functionally active tumor necrosis factor (TNF) promoter region polymorphisms at positions -238 and -308 and the entire coding region of the corresponding TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) gene in 54 patients with hereditary, familial, and idiopathic chronic pancreatitis who were previously tested negative for cationic trypsinogen mutations by direct DNA sequencing.

Results: In three patients, we detected novel DNA variants in the TNFR1 gene that did not segregate with the disease.

Pancreatic cholesterol esterase, ES-10, and fatty acid ethyl ester synthase III gene expression are increased in the pancreas and liver but not in the brain or heart with long-term ethanol feeding in rats.

Introduction: Chronic alcohol consumption predisposes susceptible individuals to both acute and chronic pancreatitis.

Aims: Our hypothesis was that alcohol increases the risk of pancreatitis by disrupting defense mechanisms and/or enhancing injury-associated pathways through altered gene expression. Hence, we studied the expression of pancreatic genes in rats chronically exposed to ethanol.