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The carboxyl-ester lipase (CEL) gene contains a variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) region. It remains unclear whether the number of repeats in the CEL VNTR is related to the risk of pancreatic diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate whether CEL VNTR length is associated with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (ICP), alcoholic chronic pancreatitis (ACP), or pancreatic cancer in a cohort of Chinese patients. CEL VNTRs were genotyped in patients diagnosed with ICP (n = 771), ACP (n = 222), or pancreatic cancer (n = 263), and in healthy controls (n = 927). CEL VNTR lengths were determined using a screening method combining PCR and DNA fragment analysis. Overall, the CEL VNTR lengths ranged from 5 to 22 repeats, with the 16-repeat allele ('normal' size, N) accounting for 73.82% of all observed alleles. The VNTR allele frequencies and genotype distributions were not significantly different between healthy controls and patients with ACP or pancreatic cancer. For the ICP group, allele frequencies did not differ significantly from the controls, while the frequency of the SS genotype (homozygosity for 5–15 repeats) was significantly higher in the patients (4.67%) than in the controls (1.94%) (p = 0.0014; OR = 2.47; 95% CI = 1.39–4.39). There were no associations between the CEL VNTR length and ACP or pancreatic cancer. However, homozygosity for short VNTR lengths may confer susceptibility to ICP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

/Objectives: A recent Genome-wide Association Study (GWAS) in alcoholic chronic pancreatitis (ACP) identified a novel association with the CTRB1-CTRB2 (chymotrypsinogen B1, B2) locus, linked to a 16.6 kb inversion that was confirmed in non-alcoholic chronic pancreatitis (NACP). Moreover, recent findings on the function of CTRB1 and CTRB2 suggest a protective role in pancreatitis development. The aim of the present study was to investigate the CTRB1-CTRB2 locus for rare genetic variants associated with chronic pancreatitis (CP). We analyzed 134 patients with ACP and 203 patients with NACP and compared them to up to 258 healthy controls. Genotyping was performed with polymerase chain reaction, followed by Sanger sequencing of all exons and the exon-intron-boundaries of CTRB1 and CTRB2. Finally, in silico analyses of the identified variants were conducted. None of the seven rare missense variants or the single 5′-UTR variant in CTRB1 and CTRB2 was associated with ACP or NACP. In silico analysis predicted that variant p. Trp5Leu in CTRB1 and variant c.-4C > T in CTRB2 might alter protein expression and variants p. Asp222His in CTRB1 and p. Ala247Thr in CTRB2 might affect protein function. However, all of these variants were also described in public databases. The present study did not reveal an association of rare variants in CTRB1 and CTRB2 with ACP or NACP. Although rare missense variants were almost exclusively found in patients, only four variants were predicted to affect protein expression or function. Thus, a major influence of rare variants in the CTRB1 - CTRB2 locus on CP development is unlikely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator ( CFTR ) has been reported to influence individual susceptibility to chronic pancreatitis (CP), but the results of previous studies are controversial. Aims We performed a study to demonstrate the relationship between CFTR and CP. Methods We searched PubMed, Scopus, and Embase for studies of patients with CP. Seven studies from 1995 to 2016 were identified, and included 64,832 patients. Pooled prevalence and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Results F508 deletion in CFTR was significantly positively associated with CP risk in the overall analysis (odds ratio [OR] = 3.20, 95% CI: 2.30–4.44, I 2 = 31.7%). In subgroup analysis stratified by ethnicity, F508 deletion was significantly associated with CP risk in Indian populations, using a fixed effects model (ORs = 5.45, 95% CI: 2.52–11.79, I 2 = 0.0%), and in non-Indian populations, using a random effects model (ORs = 3.59, 95% CI: 1.73–7.48, I 2 = 60.9%). At the same time, we found that Indians with F508 deletion had much higher CP prevalence than non-Indians. Interestingly, F508 deletion was also associated with CP and idiopathic CP risk in subgroup analysis stratified by aeitiology, using the fixed effects model. Conclusions Based on current evidence, F508 deletion is a risk factor for CP, and Indians with F508 deletion have much higher CP morbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Recent data suggest that the serine protease inhibitor Kazal type 1 (SPINK1) gene mutation is associated with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis. However, few studies have focused on the serine protease inhibitor Kazal type 1 c.194+2T>C mutation. Therefore, our goal was to study the prevalence and impact of serine protease inhibitor Kazal type 1 mutations on the clinical profile of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis patients in China. Methods: A retrospective-cohort study of 118 Chinese patients with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis was performed, and genetic tests were carried out to detect SPINK1 mutations. Subjects without pancreatitis were used as controls. In total, 118 idiopathic chronic pancreatitis patients and 100 control subjects were evaluated. Results: The serine protease inhibitor Kazal type 1 c.194+2T>C variant was present in 44.9% of patients with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis. The frequency of diabetes in idiopathic chronic pancreatitis patients with the serine protease inhibitor Kazal type 1 c.194+2T>C mutation (39.6%) was higher than that of patients without the mutation (9.2%). The time to occurrence of diabetes mellitus after idiopathic chronic pancreatitis symptom onset is significantly influenced by the c.194+2T>C mutation (p <0.001). In addition, the mean age of diabetes onset in patients with the serine protease inhibitor Kazal type 1 c.194+2T>C mutation (38.33±9.50) was significantly younger than that of patients without this mutation (49.67±6.74). Conclusions: The presence of the serine protease inhibitor Kazal type 1 c.194+2T>C mutation seems to be associated with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis and could predispose individuals to pancreatic diabetes onset at an earlier age. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Idiopathic pancreatitis is diagnosed in up to 25% of patients with chronic pancreatitis by exclusion of other potential causes including rare ones. It has been shown that idiopathic pancreatitis comprises two clinically distinct entities characterised as early-onset and late-onset disease and that the natural courses of both forms differ from that of alcoholic chronic pancreatitis. Due to considerable progress in our understanding of hereditary and autoimmune mechanisms for development of chronic pancreatitis, a specific aetiology of chronic pancreatitis can be determined in an increasing proportion of cases. Nevertheless, the aetiopathogenesis of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis frequently remains obscure. This review focuses on the pathogenetic relevance of various endogenous and exogenous (co-)factors for the manifestation and the natural course of the disease. Moreover, it presents a multifactorial model for understanding the development of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We report an interesting case of a patient with neither family nor personal history for pancreatic diseases that was admitted to our department in 1982, at the age of 25 years. At that time, medical history, absence of alcohol abuse, and radiological imaging suggested a diagnosis of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis. The patient underwent a left-pancreatectomy, with histological confirmation of chronic pancreatitis. He was asymptomatic until 1988, when episodes of pain arose, requiring a pancreatico-jejunostomy. No further problems ensued until 2004 when radiological investigation following pain-related symptoms revealed enormous dilation of the pancreatic duct. A pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy resulting in total pancreatectomy was performed. Histological examination revealed an intraductal papillary mucinous non-invasive carcinoma. Review of the previously resected specimen revealed former misdiagnosis. This tumour usually affects an elderly population and nowadays is recognised as a possible cause of chronic obstructive pancreatitis. This report represents a slippery case of misdiagnosis and demonstrates that follow-up is always mandatory following a diagnosis of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]