[A Case of Acute Superior Mesenteric Artery Occlusion Rescued by Thrombus Aspiration without Bowel Resection].

Acute superior mesenteric artery (SMA) occlusion is rare and associated with high morbidity and mortality.One of the reasons is the difficulty to diagnose the disease soon after the abdominal pain initially occurs. A 79-year-old woman with atrial fibrillation was admitted because of progressive left abdominal pain and nausea.

Overexpression of Smad6 exacerbates pancreatic fibrosis in murine caerulein-induced chronic pancreatic injuries.

Objectives: We examined the effect of the overexpression of Smad6 on pancreatic fibrosis after chronic pancreatic injury.

Methods: Chronic pancreatic injury was induced in transgenic mice overexpressing Smad6 (Tg mice) in acini and wild-type (Wt) mice by 3 episodes of acute pancreatitis per week for 1 to 4 consecutive weeks. Acute pancreatitis was elicited by 6 intraperitoneal injections of caerulein (Cn) at 50 microg/kg of body weight at hourly intervals.

Increased expression of Smad6 deteriorates murine acute experimental pancreatitis in two models.

Background: Smad6 is implicated in the inhibition of bone morphogenetic protein signalling. However, the function of Smad6 in the pancreas remains obscure.

Methods: To elucidate the unknown function of Smad6, we developed transgenic mice selectively expressing Smad6 in pancreatic acinar cells using a plasmid construct coding rat elastase 1 enhancer/promoter.

Preferential increase of extracellular matrix expression relative to transforming growth factor beta1 in the pancreas during the early stage of acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis in rats.

Objectives: To elucidate the role of transforming growth factor (TGF) beta1 and extracellular matrix (ECM) after acute necrotizing pancreatitis, we studied the regulation of TGF-beta1 and ECM after induction of pancreatitis.

Methods: We examined the serial changes of levels of plasma TGF-beta1 by enzyme-linked immunoassay and expression of TGF-beta1 and ECM by Northern and Western blot analyses, respectively, in the pancreas after induction of sodium taurocholate-induced acute pancreatitis.

Results: Plasma total (active and inactive) TGF-beta1 levels at 3 hours after induction of pancreatitis were significantly increased compared with baseline values.

Externally applied pressure activates pancreatic stellate cells through the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species.

Local tissue pressure is higher in chronic pancreatitis than in the normal pancreas. We reported recently that pressure application induces synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM) and cytokines in pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) and that epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a potent antioxidant, inhibits the transformation of PSCs from quiescent to activated phenotype and ethanol-induced synthesis of ECM and cytokines in PSCs. These results suggest that oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important in PSC activation.