Influence of leptin administration on the course of acute ischemic pancreatitis.

Leptin is involved in the regulation of food intake and previous studies have shown that leptin affects the inflammatory response in various tissues. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of leptin administration on the development and the course of acute ischemic pancreatitis. Acute pancreatitis was induced by limitation of pancreatic blood flow by clamping of inferior splenic artery for 30 min, followed by reperfusion. Leptin was administered three times daily at the dose 10 or 50 microg/kg. Animals were sacrificed 1, 3, 5, 10 and 21 days after removal of vascular clips. Administration of leptin reduced development of pancreatic damage and accelerated pancreatic regeneration what was manifested by the improvement of pancreatic histology, the decrease in serum lipase and amylase activity, and the reduction in serum interleukin-1beta concentration. Also, treatment with leptin caused the increase in the pancreatic blood flow and pancreatic DNA synthesis. Leptin administration was without effect on serum interleukin-10 concentration. Leptin at the dose 50 microg/kg was more effective than 10 microg/kg. We conclude that leptin reduces the pancreatic damage in the course of ischemic pancreatitis and accelerates the pancreatic tissue repair. The beneficial effects of leptin appear to be dependent on the improvement of pancreatic blood flow, the increase in pancreatic cell growth, and the limitation of pro-inflammatory interleukin-1beta release.