Effect of bilateral greater splanchnic nerve transection on hepatic injury in dogs with acute necrotizing pancreatitis

Objective To investigate the effect of bilateral greater splanchnic nerve transection on hepatic injury in dogs with acute necrotizing pancreatitis ( ANP) . Methods A total of 24 healthy adult mongrel dogs were randomly divided into sham-operation group ( SO group with 8 dogs) , ANP model group ( ANP group with 8 dogs) , and ANP + bilateral greater splanchnic nerve transection group ( GSNT group with 8 dogs) . Peripheral venous blood samples were collected at 2 hours before surgery and at 12 and 24 hours and 3, 5, and 7 days after surgery to measure the serum levels of amylase ( AMY) , alanine aminotransferase ( ALT) , and aspartate aminotransferase ( AST) . The dogs were sacrificed at 7 days after surgery, and the pancreatic and hepatic tissues were harvested to observe their pathological changes by visual inspection and under a light microscope. Western blot was used to measure the protein expression of p-NF-κB p65 in liver tissue. A one-way analysis of variance and a repeated-measures analysis of variance were used for comparison between groups, and the least significant difference t-test and wilcoxon rank sum test were used for further comparison between two groups. Results At 2 hours before surgery, there were no significant differences in serum levels of AMY, ALT, and AST between the three groups ( P > 0. 05) . Compared with the SO group, the ANP group and the GSNT group had significant increases in the serum levels of AMY, ALT, and AST, pancreatic and liver pathological scores, and the protein expression of p-NF-κB p65 in liver tissue after surgery ( all P < 0. 05) . After surgery, the GSNT group had significantly lower serum levels of ALT and AST, pancreatic and liver pathological scores, and protein expression of p-NF-κB p65 in liver tissue than the ANP group ( all P < 0. 05) , while there was no significant difference in the serum level of AMY between these two groups ( P > 0. 05) . Conclusion The activation of NF-κB plays an important role in the progression of ANP in dogs. Bilateral greater splanchnic nerve transection can alleviate liver injury in dogs with ANP, and such a protective effect may be associated with the downregulation of NF-κB activity in the liver.