Therapeutic effects of human urinary trypsin inhibitor on acute experimental pancreatitis

Therapeutic effects of human urinary trypsin inhibitor (MTI) on acute pancreatitis were examined. MTI potently inhibited not only proteases such as trypsin or α-chymotrypsin, but also inhibited lipase or creatine phosphokinase which are considered to be related to pancreatitis. Although gabexate mesilate (gabexate) and aprotinin also strongly inhibited trypsin, their inhibition spectra against pancreatic enzymes were narrower than MTI. MTI inhibited proteases released from pancreatic slice by trypsin more potently than gabexate or aprotinin. The therapeutic effects of MTI on experimental acute trypsin-induced pancreatitis in dogs or rats were stronger than those of gabxate or aprotinin. These results suggest that MTI may suppress pathogenesis and development of pancreatitis in several ways, for example, by directly inhibiting trypsin and by inhibiting tissue-damaging enzymes released from the pancreas by stimulation with trypsin.