Relationship between somatostatin and interleukin-6: A cross-sectional study in patients with acute pancreatitis

The aim of the analysis is to determine dynamic changes in somatostatin (SS) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentrations during in acute pancreatitis (AP).

The influence of tobacco smoking on IL-6 and SS levels in the serum of non-smoking (n = 10) and smoking (n = 27) patients with diagnosed AP and control group: non-smoking (n = 44), smoking (n = 42) and passive smoking (n = 29) healthy persons was proved. The concentration of IL-6 and SS was determined by means of ELISA. Differences between the groups analyzed were tested using the U Mann Whitney test. The Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlations.

The concentrations of IL-6 and SS were significantly higher in smoking patients with AP and healthy persons when compared with non-smoking population on every day (1 day: p = 0.0002, p = 0.015; 3 day: p = 0.005, p = 0.001 and 7 day: p = 0.025, p = 0.038). Dynamic changes in concentrations of IL-6 and SS in the serum of patients with AP were demonstrated in the ensuing days of the disease. In case of non-smoking and smoking patients, significant positive correlations between IL-6 and SS was observed.

These findings suggest that some of the antiinflammatory effects of SS against acute pancreatitis may be mediated by reducing the local proinflammatory cytokine secretion in the pancreas.