Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression of pancreatitis associated protein Ⅰ(PAPⅠ) mRNA in pancreatic tissue in experimental acute pancreatitis(AP).Methods Rat mild acute pancreatitis(MAP) and severe acute pancreatitis(SAP) were induced by retrograde pancreatic duct injection with 1.5% and 3.0% sodium taurocholate respectively.PAPⅠ mRNA was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).Severity of AP was evaluated by pancreatic pathological score,wet/dry weight ratio and amount of ascites.Results The expression of PAPⅠ mRNA could be detected at 6 h,and peaked at 24 h,then dropped rapidly(48()h) after induction of AP.The expression was significantly high in SAP in all time points,compared with MAP.Also,it correlated well with pancreatic pathological score,wet/dry weight ratio and amount of ascites.Conclusion The expression of PAPⅠ mRNA might be related with the severity of AP.

Key words: acute pancreatitis, pancreatitis associated proteinⅠ