Storz and colleagues showed that macrophages from patients with chronic pancreatitis secrete increased amounts of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, RANTES (regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted) and TNF-α, which in turn activate NF-κB and promote expression of NF-κB target genes such as MMP-9 (Matrix metallopeptidase 9). Here, MMP9 is linked to chronic pancreatitis.