Studies using experimental models indicate that the earliest changes in acute pancreatitis
involve intra-acinar cell events including the co-localization of lysosomal hydrolases with
digestive enzyme zymogens. This co-localization phenomenon leads to trypsinogen
activation and subsequent cell injury. Following acinar cell injury, a series of extra-acinar
cell changes determine the severity of pancreatitis by promoting or reducing the
inflammatory response and by influencing cell death events. Most patients with pancreatitis …