ABSTRACT
Abnormal activation and secretion of pancreatic enzymes in pancreatic acinar cells is one of the important pathogeneses of acute pancreatitis (AP) and can directly damage the pancreatic tissue to accelerate disease progression and induce severe AP. At present, the drugs inhibiting the abnormal activation and secretion of pancreatic enzymes tend to have an unsatisfactory effect in clinical practice, and therefore, it is of great importance to search for new therapeutic targets. This article summarizes the pathological events of abnormal activation and secretion of pancreatic enzymes (cytoplasmic calcium overload, colocalization of lysosomes and zymogen granules, organelle injury, obstructed apical secretion of trypsin, and increased basal secretion of trypsin), collects the molecular mechanisms of related events, and discusses the role of abnormal activation and secretion of pancreatic enzymes in the early stage of AP, so as to provide ideas for the development of targeted drugs in the future.