Phoenixin-14 attenuates pancreatic injury by modulating inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in L-arginine-induced acute pancreatitis.

Acute pancreatitis is an inflammatory disease of the pancreas characterized by oxidative stress and apoptotic cell death. Phoenixin-14 (PNX-14) is an endogenous neuropeptide suggested to regulate these processes in peripheral tissues. This study investigated the protective effects of PNX-14 against L-arginine-induced acute pancreatitis by evaluating inflammatory, oxidative stress, and apoptotic responses. Twenty-eight rats were divided into three groups: control (n = 8), L-arginine (n = 10), and L-arginine + PNX-14 (n = 10). The control group received saline(0, 1, and 2 h); the L-arginine group received L-arginine(250 mg/100 g; 1 and 2 h); and the L-arginine + PNX-14 group received L-arginine(250 mg/100 g; 1 and 2 h)and PNX-14(50 µg/kg; 0 and 2 h), all administered intraperitoneally. Serum and pancreatic tissue levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 were measured using ELISA. Pancreatic tissue levels of SOD, MDA, and MPO were also determined by ELISA. Serum amylase, lipase, and glucose levels were measured using standard biochemical methods. Histopathological damage was assessed, and apoptosis was evaluated using TUNEL assay and caspase-3 immunohistochemistry. PNX-14 reduced serum IL-1β and IL-6 levels and increased serum IL-10 levels (p < 0.05), whereas pancreatic tissue IL-10 levels were significantly reduced following PNX-14 treatment (p < 0.05). Moreover, PNX-14 decreased the levels of amylase and lipase. The treatment group had significantly lower glucose levels than the control group (p < 0.05). PNX-14 treatment significantly increased SOD levels and decreased MPO levels (p < 0.05), while MDA levels showed a decreasing trend that did not reach statistical significance. Furthermore, PNX-14 significantly reduced histopathological pancreatic damage and caspase-3 immunoreactivity (p < 0.05). Overall, these findings suggest that PNX-14 exerts protective effects against acute pancreatitis by attenuating inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in pancreatic tissue.