Gut Liver.
2012 Jul;6(3):381-387.
Involvement of Nuclear Factor Kappa B in High-Fat Diet-Related Pancreatic Fibrosis in Rats
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Gastroenterology, Shandong Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University School of Medicine, Shandong, China.
- 2Department of Gastroenterology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Shandong, China. liyanqing@sdu.edu.cn
- 3Department of Gastroenterology, Beijing Liangxiang Hospital, Beijing, China.
- 4Department of Gastroenterology, Anyang Hospital, Henan, China.
Abstract
- BACKGROUND/AIMS
High-fat diets contribute to pancreatic fibrogenesis, but the pathogenesis remains unclear. This study investigated the role of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) in high-fat diet-induced pancreatic fibrosis in rats.
METHODS
Male Wistar rats were fed a high-fat diet or standard normal chow for 20 weeks. Pancreatic fibrosis was determined by Sirius red staining. Immunohistochemical staining, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were used to identify NF-kappaB-associated genes or protein expressions.
RESULTS
Inflammation, fat deposition, pancreatic stellate cell activation and fibrosis were observed in the pancreases of the high-fat diet group. NF-kappaB subunit p65 (NF-kappaB/p65) expression was localized to the nucleus, and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) was over-expressed. Pancreatic gene expression levels of NF-kappaB/p65, ICAM-1 and tumor necrosis factor alpha were all elevated significantly in rats fed a high-fat diet compared with control rats. Western blotting also revealed significantly increased levels of ICAM-1 and nuclear NF-kappaB/p65 in rats fed high-fat diets comparison with control rats.
CONCLUSIONS
NF-kappaB is involved in high-fat diet-related pancreatic fibrosis.