IL6 and alkaline phosphatase measurement: Activin levels in animals with AP correlated strongly with circulating amylase (r = 0.69, p < 0.05), a marker for pancreatic tissue damage, and very strongly with IL-6 (r = 0.818, p < 0.001), a key component of the inflammatory response (Fig. 1B and C), supporting our initial hypothesis of a role for activin in AP.