Hydroxytyrosol: features and impact on pancreatitis

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory process of the exocrine pancreas, mainly associated with gallstone disease and alcohol abuse, which is accompanied by major parenchymal death. Current therapies are nonspecific, leading to limited effectiveness and/or undesirable side effects. Thus there is an urgent need to find novel molecules that improve both the symptoms and the evolution of the disease. Hydroxytyrosol (HT) is a phenolic compound present in the unsaponifiable fraction of virgin olive oil that has been reported to have, among others, antiinflammatory and antioxidant properties. This chapter describes the main findings of our studies in pancreatic AR42J cells, which we used as a model to investigate the early events of AP and whether these can be influenced by HT. Our results reveal that HT may protect acinar cells against injurious effects of cerulein through a multitargeted mechanism that, at least, involves improvement of cell antioxidant defenses, inhibition of nuclear factor kappa B activation and cytokine release, restoration of normal Ca2+ signaling and amylase secretory pattern, and decreased apoptosis.