Inhibition of PAK1 alleviates cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis via p38 and NF-κB pathways

Acute pancreatitis is a life-threatening disease accompanied by systemic inflammatory response. NF-κB and p38 signal pathways are activated in AP induced by cerulein. And PAKs are multifunctional effectors of Rho GTPases with kinase activity. In the present study, the function of P21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) in AP was investigated, and found that PAK1 was up-regulated in pancreas of AP mice model, and led to NF-κB and p38 pathway activation. PAK1 inhibition by shRNA or small molecule inhibitor FRAX597 decreased NF-κB and p38 activity, also alleviated the pathological damage in the pancreas of AP mice model, including decreasing the amylase and lipase levels in serum, decreasing the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and interleukin-1β in AP. These results suggested that PAK1 inhibition protects against AP by inhibiting NF-κB and p38 pathways, and indicated that PAK1 is a potential therapy to alleviate AP patients in clinic, and these need to be explored further.