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Updated: Oct 2, 2026

Preparing a Mice Model of Severe Acute Pancreatitis via a Combination of Caerulein and Lipopolysaccharide Intraperitoneal Injection
Published on: May 10, 2024
Human interleukin 10 gene therapy decreases the severity and mortality of lethal pancreatitis in rats
Wei-Guo Zou1, Dan-Song Wang, Ming-Fei Lang
1Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
Background:
Studies have proven the validity of interleukin-10 (IL-10) in the treatment of experimental pancreatitis. Prophylactic human IL-10 (hIL-10) gene treatment attenuated the severity in cerulein models. Our research aims to study whether the therapeutic hIL-10 gene could decrease both severity and mortality in a lethal pancreatic model.
Methods:
Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) was induced by sodium taurocholate. A plasmid-hIL-10 construct (pcDNA3-hIL-10) complexed with cationic liposomes was administered to SAP rats by a single intraperitoneal injection. Levels of hIL-10 in the pancreas, liver, and lungs were determined by ELISA kits. The severity of pancreatitis was assessed in terms of serum amylase, histology, and tissue tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). Mortality, observed for 7 days, was evaluated for gene therapy or control groups.
Results:
After hIL-10 gene therapy, hIL-10 levels in the pancreas, liver, and lungs increased significantly and the serum amylase, tissue TNF-alpha, and histological changes in pancreas, liver, and lungs decreased markedly. Therefore, mortality was significantly reduced in the hIL-10 gene therapy group, in which 70% of rats survived in the 7-day observation, while only 10% survived in untreated groups (P < 0.05).
Conclusion:
We found that liposome/hIL-10 gene therapy decreased severity and mortality in SAP, even carried out after SAP establishment, predicting a more convenient shift to clinical applications.

