Ethyl pyruvate significantly inhibits tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β and high mobility group box 1 releasing and attenuates sodium taurocholate-induced severe acute pancreatitis associated with acute lung injury.

In this study, we examined the effect of ethyl pyruvate (EP) on pulmonary inflammation in rats with severe pancreatitis-associated acute lung injury (ALI). Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) was induced in rats by the retrograde injection of 5% sodium taurocholate into the pancreatic duct. Rats were randomly divided into the following experimental groups: control group, SAP group and EP-treated group. The tissue specimens were harvested for morphological studies, Streptavidin-peroxidase immunohistochemistry examination. Pancreatic or lung tissue oedema was evaluated by tissue water content. Serum amylase and lung tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were measured. Meanwhile, the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation, tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) levels and HMGB1 protein expression levels in the lung were studied. In the present study, we demonstrated that treatment with EP after SAP was associated with a reduction in the severity of SAP and lung injury. Treatment with EP significantly decreased the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, HMGB1 and ameliorated MDA concentration, MPO activity in the lung in SAP rats. Compared to SAP group, administration of EP prevented pancreatitis-induced increases in nuclear translocation of NF-κB in the lung. Similarly, treatment with EP significantly decreased the accumulation of neutrophils and markedly reduced the enhanced lung permeability. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that EP might play a therapeutic role in pulmonary inflammation in this SAP model.