New challenges for microRNAs in acute pancreatitis: progress and treatment

Abstract

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common clinical abdominal emergency, with a high and increasing incidence each year. Severe AP can easily cause systemic inflammatory response syndrome, multiple organ dysfunction and other complications, leading to higher hospitalization rates and mortality. Currently, there is no specific treatment for AP. Thus, we still need to understand the exact AP pathogenesis to effectively cure AP. With the rise of transcriptomics, RNA molecules, such as microRNAs (miRNAs) transcribed from nonprotein-coding regions of biological genomes, have been found to be of great significance in the regulation of gene expression and to be involved in the occurrence and development of many diseases. Increasing evidence has shown that miRNAs, as regulatory RNAs, can regulate pancreatic acinar necrosis and apoptosis and local and systemic inflammation and play an important role in the development and thus potentially the diagnosis and treatment of AP. Therefore, here, the current research on the relationship between miRNAs and AP is reviewed.

Keywords: Acute pancreatitis; Molecular markers; Pathogenic mechanism; Treatment; microRNAs.

Fig. 1

Mechanisms by which miRNAs regulate AP. The figure fully shows the relevant mechanisms by which miRNAs regulate AP, including regulation of inflammatory factors and inflammatory cells through related signal pathways, regulation of AP-related autophagy or necrosis, and promotion of immune cell infiltration and differentiation. These processes ultimately promote damage to pancreatic acinar cells and AP progression

Fig. 2

Related miRNAs that could be directly or indirectly targeted for the treatment of AP and its complications. The figure shows that direct targeting of miRNA can attenuate the inflammatory response in AP or, combined with traditional Chinese medicine and MSCs, reverse the severity of AP. For AP with severe complications, therapies targeting miRNAs can also have a good effect