A novel acute necrotizing pancreatitis model induced by L-arginine in rats.

This study developed a novel protocol for creating an acute necrotizing pancreatitis model in rats using L-arginine. Anesthetic laparotomy was performed on the upper abdomen, and the pancreatic parenchyma of Sprague-Dawley rats was injected with 1 mL of sterilized L-arginine solution at 5 different locations in the experimental group. Specifically, 2 different injection points in the head and body of the pancreas were chosen randomly, and 1 injection point in the tail of the pancreas was chosen randomly. The parenchyma of the pancreas was injected with 200 μL of an L-arginine solution at each point. The optimal dose of L-arginine per rat was 0.4 g/kg. Serum amylase activity increased significantly after targeted injection into the parenchyma of the pancreas. Pathological examination of the pancreas 24 hours after L-arginine injection revealed massive interstitial edema, apoptosis, and necrosis of acinar cells with an infiltration of neutrophils, granulocytes, and monocytes. The present study developed an appropriate, workable, and reproducible rat model of acute necrotizing pancreatitis with higher survivability and success rates compared with previously published methods.