Elevated levels of chemokines in esophageal mucosa of patients with reflux esophagitis.
OBJECTIVE
Chemokines play a key role in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory conditions. However, there is little information on their profile in reflux esophagitis (RE). We sought to study esophageal mucosa levels of chemokines in RE.


METHODS
A total of 32 outpatients with RE and 13 normal controls were studied. Endoscopic severity of RE was classified according to the Los Angeles grading system. Paired biopsy specimens were taken from the esophagus 3 cm above the gastroesophageal junction; one biopsy was snap frozen for measurement of mucosal levels of interleukin 8 (IL-8), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), regulated on activation normal T-cell expressed and presumably secreted (RANTES), and IL-1 beta by enzyme linked immunosorbent assays, while the other was formalin-fixed for histopathological evaluation.


RESULTS
IL-8, MCP-1, and RANTES levels were significantly higher in esophageal mucosa of RE patients than those of the controls. IL-8 levels correlated significantly with the endoscopic severity of RE. Basal zone hyperplasia and papillary elongation, histopathological hallmarks of RE, were both associated with higher levels of IL-8 and MCP-1. The presence of intraepithelial neutrophils and eosinophils, which also indicate RE, was associated with high levels of IL-8 and RANTES, respectively. There were no significant differences in IL-1 beta levels between the RE and control groups, but IL-1 beta levels correlated significantly with the IL-8 production. Again, the IL-8 levels were significantly decreased after lansoprazole treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that chemokines produced locally in the esophageal mucosa may be involved in the development and progression of RE.
Isomoto
Hajime
H
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Japan.
Wang
Aiping
A
Mizuta
Yohei
Y
Akazawa
Yuko
Y
Ohba
Kazuo
K
Omagari
Katsuhisa
K
Miyazaki
Masanobu
M
Murase
Kunihiko
K
Hayashi
Tomayoshi
T
Inoue
Kenichiro
K
Murata
Ikuo
I
Kohno
Shigeru
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D018932:Chemokine CCL2 / Q000378:metabolism; D018946:Chemokine CCL5 / Q000378:metabolism; D018925:Chemokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004942:Esophagitis, Peptic / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D004947:Esophagus / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D018932:Chemokine CCL2; D018946:Chemokine CCL5; D018925:Chemokines; D016209:Interleukin-8