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Ellagic Acid Inhibits Pancreatic Fibrosis in Male Wistar Bonn/Kobori Rats

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Abstract

The key pathological features of chronic pancreatitis are chronic inflammation, acinar atrophy, and pancreatic fibrosis. We have previously shown that ellagic acid, a plant-derived polyphenol found in fruits and nuts, inhibited activation of pancreatic stellate cells, a major profibrogenic cell type in the pancreas, in vitro. Here we examined whether ellagic acid inhibited the development of pancreatic fibrosis in vivo. Ellagic acid was administered orally in the diet to ten-week-old male Wistar Bonn/Kobori rats, an experimental model of spontaneous chronic pancreatitis, for ten weeks. Ellagic acid (100 mg/kg body weight/day) attenuated pancreatic inflammation and fibrosis. The protective effects were confirmed by an increase in pancreatic weight and decreases in myeloperoxidase activity (an index of neutrophil infiltration), collagen content, transforming growth factor-β1 expression, and the number of α-smooth muscle actin-positive cells (activated pancreatic stellate cells) and ED-1-positive cells (macrophages/monocytes). Ellagic acid inhibited the production of reactive oxygen species in pancreatic stellate cells in response to transforming growth factor-β1 or platelet-derived growth factor. Our results suggest that ellagic acid might be a candidate for treatment of chronic pancreatitis.

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Abbreviations

CP:

Chronic pancreatitis

DCF-DA:

2′,7′-Dichlorofluorescein diacetate

MPO:

Myeloperoxidase

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

PDGF:

Platelet-derived growth factor

PSC:

Pancreatic stellate cell

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SMA:

Smooth muscle actin

TGF:

Transforming growth factor

WBN/Kob:

Wistar Bonn/Kobori

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by Grant-in-Aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (to A.M. and K.K.), by the Pancreas Research Foundation of Japan (to A.M. and K.K.), by the Kanae Foundation for Life and Socio-Medical Science (to A.M.), and by the Uehara Memorial Foundation (to A.M.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8574, Japan

    Noriaki Suzuki, Atsushi Masamune, Kazuhiro Kikuta, Takashi Watanabe, Kennichi Satoh & Tooru Shimosegawa

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  1. Noriaki Suzuki
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  2. Atsushi Masamune
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  3. Kazuhiro Kikuta
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  4. Takashi Watanabe
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  5. Kennichi Satoh
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  6. Tooru Shimosegawa
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Correspondence to Atsushi Masamune.

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N. Suzuki and K. Kikuta contributed equally to this work.

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Suzuki, N., Masamune, A., Kikuta, K. et al. Ellagic Acid Inhibits Pancreatic Fibrosis in Male Wistar Bonn/Kobori Rats. Dig Dis Sci 54, 802–810 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-008-0423-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-008-0423-7

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