Research Summary

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is one of the most common diseases in gastroenterology. It is an inflammatory disorder of exocrine pancreas, which is often associated with severe mortality. The severity of AP depends largely on the balance between different forms of cell death, especially apoptosis and necrosis.
To study the pathomechanism of AP, we use animal models (caerulein-induced AP and AP induced by retrogade infusion of bile acids). These treatments trigger events within the pancreas leading to membrane disruption, oedema, interstitial haemorrhage and necrosis accompanied with leukocyte infiltration. Beside the in vivo models, we also use in vitro cellular models (rat acinar cell line and primary acinar cell culture) in our experiements. One of our aims is to investigate the regulatory mechanisms of AP in order to identify potential targets for intervention.
(This project is currently inactive.)