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Taurine Attenuates Liver Injury by Downregulating Phosphorylated p38 MAPK of Kupffer Cells in Rats with Severe Acute Pancreatitis

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Abstract

This study was undertaken to clarify the effects of taurine on liver injury in rats with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). Rats were randomly assigned to three groups: a sham operation (SO), a SAP (established by infusion of 5% taurocholate), and a SAP given taurine (Taur). At 12 and 24 h post-operation, taurine pretreatment significantly attenuated hepatic tissue injury induced by SAP, and concurrently, serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate transaminase, and amylase levels were significantly reduced by taurine pretreatment. Compared with the SO group, the total and phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) expression and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activity of Kupffer cells (KCs) were significantly higher in the SAP group, but taurine pretreatment inhibited the total and phosphorylated p38 MAPK expression and NF-κB activity of KCs in the SAP group. The increase of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-lβ in cultured supernate of the SAP rat-derived KCs was also significantly inhibited by taurine pretreatment. These results suggest that taurine pretreatment ameliorated liver injury in rats with SAP mainly by inhibiting phosphorylated p38 MAPK and NF-κB activity in KCs, which may play an important role in liver injury.

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Abbreviations

p38 MAPK:

p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase

P-p38 MAPK:

Phosphorylated p38 MAPK

NF-κB:

Nuclear factor-κB

KCs:

Kupffer cells

SAP:

Severe acute pancreatitis

Taur:

Taurine

SO:

Sham operation

ALT:

Alanine aminotransferase

AST:

Aspartate transaminase

AMS:

Amylase

TNF-α:

Tumor necrosis factor-α

IL-lβ:

Interleukin-lβ

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors acknowledge the financial support for this project by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30772098, 30972888, 81070374, and 30801126).

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The authors affirm that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chongqing Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, 74 Linjiang Road, Chongqing, 400010, China

    Sidong Wei, Qingyong Huang, Jinzheng Li, Zuojin Liu, Haibo You, Yong Chen & Jianping Gong

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  1. Sidong Wei
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  2. Qingyong Huang
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  3. Jinzheng Li
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Correspondence to Jianping Gong.

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Wei, S., Huang, Q., Li, J. et al. Taurine Attenuates Liver Injury by Downregulating Phosphorylated p38 MAPK of Kupffer Cells in Rats with Severe Acute Pancreatitis. Inflammation 35, 690–701 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10753-011-9362-0

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