Hereditary pancreatitis: a model for understanding the genetic basis of acute and chronic pancreatitis

Progress in understanding pancreatic diseases has been limited by a number of factors. Primary problems include the absence of good animal models, and difficulty in understanding the origin of pancreatic disease since the disease is usually manifest by the progressive destruction of the gland itself. Beginning in 1995, our laboratory, with the support of the Midwest Multicenter Pancreatic Study Group, began investigating the genetic basis of hereditary pancreatitis. Utilization of information becoming available through the human genome project allowed us to map and identify the hereditary pancreatitis gene as cationic trypsinogen (PRSS1). Molecular modeling, and subsequent experimental evidence, has solved key elements of the mysteries surrounding the origin of acute pancreatitis and the progression of acute pancreatitis to chronic pancreatitis. The availability of new genetic information and genomic tools should produce a revolution in our understanding of pancreatic diseases.