Comprehensive review on the pathogenesis of hypertriglyceridaemia-associated acute pancreatitis

Abstract

It is well known, that the inflammatory process that characterizes acute pancreatitis (AP) can lead to both pancreatic damage and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). During the last 20 years, there has been a growing incidence of episodes of acute pancreatitis associated with hypertriglyceridaemia (HTAP). This review provides an overview of triglyceride metabolism and the potential mechanisms that may contribute to developing or exacerbating HTAP. The article comprehensively discusses the various pathological roles of free fatty acid, inflammatory response mechanisms, the involvement of microcirculation, serum calcium overload, oxidative stress and the endoplasmic reticulum, genetic polymorphism, and gut microbiota, which are known to trigger or escalate this condition. Future perspectives on HTAP appear promising, with ongoing research focused on developing more specific and effective treatment strategies.

Keywords:

• Hypertriglyceridemia
• lipids
• acute pancreatitis
• pathogenesis
• mechanism

Acknowledgments

None.

Disclosure statement

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Ethics statement

This study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. This study was performed according to the principles expressed in the Declaration of Helsinki. The committee decided to waive the need for written informed consent from the participants studied in this analysis as the data were analyzed retrospectively and anonymously.

Authors’ contributions

MQ and WH conceptualized the study, searched and analyzed the literature, and wrote the draft of the manuscript. XZ, MZ, HG, ZB, MJ and WH helped to finalize the manuscript. All authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Zhejiang Medical and Health Science and Technology Plan Project (Number: 2022KY886), Wenzhou Science and Technology Bureau (Number: Y2020010).