Figure 1

Emerging role of DAMPs in acute pancreatitis. A number of rodent models have proven useful for studying the pathogenic mechanisms of acute pancreatitis. Increasing evidence indicates that DAMPs such as HMGB1, DNA, HSPs, histones and ATP play a central role in the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis because DAMPs link local tissue damage and death to systemic inflammation response syndrome, which leads to subsequent MOF and even death.