Foregoing endotoxemia evoked by increasing doses of LPS (5, 10 or 15 mg/kg/day × 5 days) caused marked and dose-dependent upregulation of caspase-9 protein level in the pancreatic acini incubated with caerulein (10−8 M) as compared to the caerulein-treated group alone with the highest expression values detected in the acini cultures from animals treated with LPS at doses of 10 or 15 mg/kg/day. This evidence concerns the gene CASP9 and serum lipopolysaccharide activity.