Figure 1.

Protective effect of Pthrp gene deletion in acinar cells (PTHrP^Δacinar) in mouse models of cerulein-induced and pancreatic duct ligation-induced (PDL) pancreatitis. Acinar cell-specific targeted disruption of the Pthrp gene was achieved using Cre-LoxP technology and the acinar cell-specific elastase promoter. Cre recombinase was activated by injection with tamoxifen. For the cerulein-induced CP model, mice received five injections of cerulein (50 µg·kg⁻¹) at 1 h intervals three days a week for three weeks, and were sacrificed four days after the last injection. For the PDL model, the splenic duct was ligated and mice were sacrificed two days later. PTHrP^Δacinar significantly inhibited pancreatic damage, including zymogen release, histological damage, NF-κB activation, cytokine release, PSC activation (assessed by monitoring α-SMA levels) and fibrosis (assessed using collagen as marker).