Fig. 5: Reduction of SAP severity by propionate and butyrate.

a Mice were pre-treated with antibiotics (ABX) in their drinking water for 7 days. They were then pre-treated with or without sodium acetate (SA, 400 mg/kg/day), sodium propionate (SP, 400 mg/kg/day), and sodium butyrate (SB, 400 mg/kg/day) for 7 days. Finally, SAP was induced by injecting caerulein (50 μg/kg/hour) for 11 times and LPS (10 mg/kg) once. Tissue samples were collected 24 hours later from the following groups: ABX + SAP mice (n = 11 samples), ABX + SA + SAP mice (n = 8 samples), ABX + SP + SAP mice (n = 8 samples), and ABX + SB + SAP mice (n = 8 samples), and these samples were analyzed using various techniques. Third-party elements were modified from the Scidraw under a CC BY 4.0 license. b Bar plots illustrating the quantification of serum cytokines IL-8 and IL-6 in different groups (ABX + SAP, n = 11 samples; ABX + SA + SAP, n = 7 samples; ABX + SP + SAP, n = 8 samples; ABX + SB + SAP, n = 8 samples). c, d Representative images displaying pancreatic H&E staining, Sirius staining, and IL-6 immunohistochemical staining (c), along with bar plots showing pathological scores and associated quantification (d) in different groups (ABX + SAP, n = 11 samples; ABX + SA + SAP, n = 8 samples; ABX + SP + SAP, n = 8 samples; ABX + SB + SAP, n = 8 samples). e, f Representative images show pancreatic immunohistochemical staining of MPO, CD68, CD86, and CD206 (e), and bar plots demonstrate associated quantification (f) in different groups (ABX + SAP, n = 11 samples; ABX + SA + SAP, n = 8 samples; ABX + SP + SAP, n = 8 samples; ABX + SB + SAP, n = 8 samples). g Bar plots presenting the quantification of serum lipase and amylase in different groups (ABX + SAP, n = 11 samples; ABX + SA + SAP, n = 8 samples; ABX + SP + SAP, n = 8 samples; ABX + SB + SAP, n = 8 samples). h A bar plot indicating pancreatic weight differences in different groups (ABX + SAP, n = 11 samples; ABX + SA + SAP, n = 8 samples; ABX + SP + SAP, n = 8 samples; ABX + SB + SAP, n = 8 samples). Data are presented as mean ± SD. Statistical comparisons were performed using one-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s test for statistical significance. Scale bar, 100 μm. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. ABX antibiotics, LPS lipopolysaccharide, IL-8 interleukin-8, H&E hematoxylin-eosin, MPO myeloperoxidase, CD68 cluster of differentiation 68.