Detection of Superoxide Free Radicals in Rats with Acute Pancreatitis

Abstract
To study the importance of oxygen-derived free radicals in acute pancreatitis, an experimental study of in vivo detection of superoxide free radicals (O2) was performed using rats. Using a new chemiluminescence probe (2-methyl-6-[p-methoxyphenyl]-3,7-dihydroimidazol[1,2-1]pyrazin-3-one; MCLA; a Cypridina luciferin analogue) and a highly sensitive photon counting system, O2 from the pancreatic surface of rats with experimental acute pancreatitis induced by 180 μg cedein/kg was detected. The time course of MCLA-dependent luminescence suggested that O2 production began 2–3 h after cerulein injection and then decreased gradually. Superoxide free radical production in the pancreas of rats with cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis was confirmed using MCLA-dependent chemiluminescence. This new method allows direct observation of the behavior of oxygen-derived free radicals.

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