To study the role of endotoxin in acute hemorrhagic necrotizing pancreatitis (AHNP), the change of endotoxin were studied in rats AHNP models by injection of 5% sodium taurocholate 1 ml/kg into pancreatic duct, and the effects of recombinant interleukin-2 (IL-2) in the treatment of AHNP were observed in this experiment. The results indicated that endotoxin involved the aggravation of AHNP and was associated with the increase of serum phospholipas-2 (PLA2), and these mediators were positively correlated with severe degrees of pancreatic damage. The results also suggeste that IL-2 might inhibit the overexpression of endotoxin and PLA2 and mitigate the pancreatic injury and decrease the 72h-mortality rate of AHNP from 66.7% to 26.7% (Ｐ＜0.01). Endotoxin might play a major role in the pathogenesis of AHNP and IL-2 might have a potential role in the treatment of AHNP.
