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To elucidate whether pancreatic acinar cell submitted to stress is able to express TNF-α, we studied TNF-α mRNA expression by Northern blot and in situ hybridization in healthy pancreas, in tissue from caerulein-induced pancreatitis and after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment. In specimens from normal pancreas, TNF-α mRNA expression, as judged by both Northern blot and in situ hybridization, was negative, whereas a strong but transient expression was observed in acinar cells from caerulein pancreatitis and LPS treatment. TNF-α mRNA appeared as rapidly as 30 min after treatment, and was maximal 6 h after. At this time, there was mild infiltration consisting mostly of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) and no signal of TNF-α transcript was found in their cytoplasm. Our results strongly indicate that pancreatic acinar cell is the source of TNF-α early in the course of acute pancreatitis and LPS treatment, and …