The effect of smoking on endothelin-1 in patients with chronic pancreatitis

The aim of this study is to prove the influence of tobacco smoking on the endothelin-1 (ET-1) level in the plasma and on the immunohistochemical localization in the pancreatic tissues. The blood was collected from 50 healthy individuals and 63 patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP). The ET-1 and cotinine concentrations in the plasma were estimated by ELISA. Samples of tissues of the normal pancreas and CP were verified histopathologically, and then ET-1 was localized by immunohistochemical staining using the monoclonal anti-human ET-1 antibody. The intensity of immunohistochemical reaction was calculated with the semiquantitative Digital Imaging Methodology. The study demonstrated a significant concentration of ET-1 in smoking healthy individuals and in patients with CP when compared with the nonsmoking population (P=0.003 and 0.0005, respectively). A significantly stronger immunohistochemical ET-1 reaction was observed in the tissue of smoking patients with CP than in the normal pancreatic tissue and of nonsmoking CP patients (P=0.001, 0.008, and 0.03, respectively). The presented data evidence that tobacco smoking has a direct effect on the endothelium, leading to an increased level of ET-1.