Cigarette smoking impairs pancreatic duct cell bicarbonate secretion

Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for chronic pancreatitis 2021

BACKGROUND

Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is defined according to the recently proposed mechanistic definition as a pathological fibro-inflammatory syndrome of the pancreas in individuals with genetic, environmental, and/or other risk factors who develop persistent pathological responses to parenchymal injury or stress.

METHODS

The clinical practice guidelines for CP in Japan were revised in 2021 based on the 2019 Japanese clinical diagnostic criteria for CP, which incorporate the concept of a pathogenic fibro-inflammatory syndrome in the pancreas. In this third edition, clinical questions are reclassified into clinical questions, background questions, and future research questions.

RESULTS

Based on analysis of newly accumulated evidence, the strength of evidence and recommendations for each clinical question is described in terms of treatment selection, lifestyle guidance, pain control, treatment of exocrine and endocrine insufficiency, and treatment of complications. A flowchart outlining indications, treatment selection, and policies for cases in which treatment is ineffective is provided. For pain control, pharmacological treatment and the indications and timing for endoscopic and surgical treatment have been updated in the revised edition.

CONCLUSIONS

These updated guidelines provide clinicians with useful information to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of CP.

Bicarbonate Transport in Cystic Fibrosis and Pancreatitis

CFTR, the cystic fibrosis (CF) gene-encoded epithelial anion channel, has a prominent role in driving chloride, bicarbonate and fluid secretion in the ductal cells of the exocrine pancreas. Whereas severe mutations in CFTR cause fibrosis of the pancreas in utero, CFTR mutants with residual function, or CFTR variants with a normal chloride but defective bicarbonate permeability (CFTR^BD), are associated with an enhanced risk of pancreatitis. Recent studies indicate that CFTR function is not only compromised in genetic but also in selected patients with an acquired form of pancreatitis induced by alcohol, bile salts or smoking. In this review, we summarize recent insights into the mechanism and regulation of CFTR-mediated and modulated bicarbonate secretion in the pancreatic duct, including the role of the osmotic stress/chloride sensor WNK1 and the scaffolding protein IRBIT, and current knowledge about the role of CFTR in genetic and acquired forms of pancreatitis. Furthermore, we discuss the perspectives for CFTR modulator therapy in the treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency and pancreatitis and introduce pancreatic organoids as a promising model system to study CFTR function in the human pancreas, its role in the pathology of pancreatitis and its sensitivity to CFTR modulators on a personalized basis.

Pain Management in Chronic Pancreatitis: Summary of Clinical Practice, Current Challenges and Potential Contribution of the M-ANNHEIM Classification

Abdominal pain, diarrhea with weight loss, and endocrine insufficiency represent the dominant symptoms of chronic pancreatitis (CP). High intensity of pain and constant pain have been shown to reduce quality of life in CP and may result in disability and increased health resource utilization. Various basic challenges and unanswered questions still exist regarding the treatment of pain in CP. Recently, limited evidence has been gained that early surgery for painful disease might be associated with better treatment results. Thus, timing of pancreatic surgery in painful disease represents a major issue that needs to be clarified in future studies. In this context, surveillance of patients is necessary in clinical practice. It appears that a generally accepted classification of the disease represents a major requirement for inter-institutional comparison of data with future progress in clinical research. Among recently proposed classification systems, the M-ANNHEIM classification system of CP with its recently presented M-ANNHEIM Surgery Score might be a useful tool to picture the course of the disease and to monitor treatment results. Future research is required to clarify the possible role of this system in the management of pain in CP. In the present article, we provide an overview of current status, challenges, and unanswered questions in the treatment of pain in CP, and we demonstrate the potential benefits of the M-ANNHEIM classification system in the management of painful CP.

Genistein improve nicotine toxicity on male mice pancreas

Nicotine is the most toxic factor of tobacco. Genistein is a phytoestrogen and antioxidant that has numerous health benefits. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of genistein against toxic properties of nicotine to the pancreas of mice. For this purpose, 48 male mice were randomly assigned into six groups (n=8): normal control, nicotine control (2.5 mg/kg), genistein (25 and 50 mg/kg), and nicotine+genistein (25 and 50 mg/kg) treated groups. Various doses of genistein and genistein+nicotine were administered intraperitoneally to animals for 4 weeks. The weight of pancreas, total antioxidant capacity and nitrite oxide of serum, insulin levels, and the number and diameter of islets of Langerhans were investigated. Nicotine administration reduced significantly total antioxidant capacity, insulin, pancreas weight, and the number and diameter of islets of Langerhans and increased nitrite oxide in serum compared to the control normal group (P<0.05). Conversely, genistein and genistein+nicotine increased significantly insulin, total antioxidant capacity, and the number and diameter islets of Langerhans and decreased serum nitrite oxide compared to the nicotine control group. It seems that the genistein can improve pancreas damage following the nicotine administration.

A Multiphase Flow in the Antroduodenal Portion of the Gastrointestinal Tract: A Mathematical Model

A group of authors has developed a multilevel mathematical model that focuses on functional disorders in a human body associated with various chemical, physical, social, and other factors. At this point, the researchers have come up with structure, basic definitions and concepts of a mathematical model at the "macrolevel" that allow describing processes in a human body as a whole. Currently we are working at the "mesolevel" of organs and systems. Due to complexity of the tasks, this paper deals with only one meso-fragment of a digestive system model. It describes some aspects related to modeling multiphase flow in the antroduodenal portion of the gastrointestinal tract. Biochemical reactions, dissolution of food particles, and motor, secretory, and absorbing functions of the tract are taken into consideration. The paper outlines some results concerning influence of secretory function disorders on food dissolution rate and tract contents acidity. The effect which food density has on inflow of food masses from a stomach to a bowel is analyzed. We assume that the future development of the model will include digestive enzymes and related reactions of lipolysis, proteolysis, and carbohydrates breakdown.

Diagnosis of Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

OPINION STATEMENT

The accurate diagnosis of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) helps identify those in need of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy. Conversely, ruling out EPI identifies those in which additional evaluation should be pursued to explain their symptoms. There are many available tests that can be used to diagnose EPI; however, the tests must be tailored to each clinical scenario. Tests that are convenient but less accurate (e.g., fecal elastase-1, qualitative fecal fat determination) are best suited for patients with a high pretest probability of EPI. In contrast, tests that are highly accurate but more cumbersome (e.g., endoscopic pancreatic function testing, 72-h fecal fat collection) are favored in patients suspected to have mild EPI or an early stage of chronic pancreatitis. Additional research is needed to identify a more convenient means of accurately diagnosing at all stages of EPI.

Epidemiologic and Mechanistic Associations Between Smoking and Pancreatitis

OPINION STATEMENT

Alcohol has long been associated with pancreatitis. Although first described more than three decades ago, smoking has been widely accepted as an important risk factor for all forms of pancreatitis only in the past few years. Empiric data has confirmed smoking as an independent and dose-dependent risk for both acute and chronic pancreatitis. Smoking also increases the risk of recurrences and progression of established chronic pancreatitis. The effects of smoking are enhanced in the presence of alcohol consumption. Indirect evidence suggests that smoking cessation may be beneficial in preventing disease progression. Smoking cessation can therefore be an important strategy for primary as well as secondary prevention of pancreatitis. Therefore, in addition to alcohol, physicians should routinely counsel patients for the benefits of smoking cessation. The mechanisms through which cigarette smoke triggers pathological cellular events, resulting in pancreatitis, are unresolved. Although cigarette smoke contains greater than 4000 compounds, principally nicotine and the tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) have been broadly studied with regard to pancreatic diseases. Both nicotine and NNK have been shown to induce morphological changes in the pancreas consistent with those seen in pancreatitis. Furthermore, nicotine affects pancreatic secretion and NNK induces premature zymogen activation, two well-known features of pancreatitis. These cigarette toxins may mediate both pro- and anti-inflammatory pathways and can induce changes in pancreatic acinar cell function at the level of transcription, leading to conditions such as thiamin deficiency and mitochondrial dysfunction. Such circumstances could leave the pancreas prone to the development of pancreatitis. This review summarizes relevant research findings and focuses on the epidemiologic links between smoking and pancreatitis, and the cellular pathways that may be significant in induction and evolution of smoking-related pancreatitis.