Alcoholic Chronic Pancreatitis: Induction, Progression And Reversal
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$632,211.00
Summary
Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) is a serious complication of alcohol abuse. Patients suffer from severe and often intractable abdominal pain, maldigestion and diabetes, We have recently shown that gut toxins (endotoxins) may act as a trigger factor for pancreatitis in alcoholics. The proposed project aims to characterise the effects of gut toxins on the pancreas during alcohol abuse so as to identify pathways that may be therapeutically targeted to prevent or retard the disease.
Alcoholic Pancreatitis : Role Of Alcohol, Endotoxin And Stellate Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$501,653.00
Summary
The pancreas is the major digestive organ of the body. It contains many proteins (enzymes) which break down food. One of the more serious complications of alcohol (ethanol) abuse is pancreatitis, a condition that has both acute and chronic manifestations. Patients with acute pancreatitis suffer from acute abdominal pain; in severe cases the condition can be fatal. Repeated attacks of acute pancreatitis can lead to chronic pancreatitis, a condition in which, normal pancreatic tissue is lost and i ....The pancreas is the major digestive organ of the body. It contains many proteins (enzymes) which break down food. One of the more serious complications of alcohol (ethanol) abuse is pancreatitis, a condition that has both acute and chronic manifestations. Patients with acute pancreatitis suffer from acute abdominal pain; in severe cases the condition can be fatal. Repeated attacks of acute pancreatitis can lead to chronic pancreatitis, a condition in which, normal pancreatic tissue is lost and is replaced by scarring. This disease causes chronic pain, inability to digest food with consequent malnutrition and destruction of the insulin producing cells of the gland leading to diabetes. The mechanisms by which alcohol causes pancreatitis are not yet known. Although it is well established that the risk of developing pancreatitis increases with increasing intake of alcohol, suggesting that alcohol exerts toxic effects on the gland, it is also clear that not all alcoholics develop pancreatitis, indicating that an additional trigger factor-susceptibility factor is required to produce overt disease. The proposed project aims to determine the mechanisms responsible for alcohol-induced acute and chronic pancreatitis. It seeks i) to determine whether toxins from gut bacteria (endotoxins) may act as the trigger factor for acute alcoholic pancreatitis; and ii) to characterise the effects of alcohol and endotoxin on the cells responsible for pancreatic scarring, namely, pancreatic stellate cells. Our experiments will involve an animal model of alcohol feeding as well as pancreatic cells grown in dishes (cultured cells). Identification of the pathways by which alcohol causes pancreatic injury may enable the development of treatment strategies to prevent and-or retard the progress of alcoholic pancreatitisRead moreRead less