Mouse Models of Pancreatitis Induction

The protocol for animal use was reviewed and approved by the University of Pittsburgh Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. RAGE^−/− mice (SVEV129×C57BL/6) were a kind gift from the late Dr. Angelika Bierhaus (12 (link)). TLR4^−/− mice (C57BL/6 background) and AIM2^−/− mice (C57BL/6 background) were obtained from The Jackson Laboratory (Farmington, CT, USA). For L-arginine-induced pancreatitis, a sterile solution of L-arginine hydrochloride (8%; Sigma) was prepared in normal saline and the pH was adjusted to 7.0. Mice received three hourly intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of L-arginine (3 g/kg), while controls were administered saline i.p. as a control as described previously (13 (link)). For cerulein-induced pancreatitis, mice received seven hourly i.p. injections of 50 μg/kg cerulein (Sigma) in sterile saline, while controls were given saline as described previously (14 (link)).