title: Role of interleukin-6 in Barrett's esophagus pathogenesis.
abstract: Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a metaplastic lesion of the distal esophagus arising as a consequence of chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease. Multiple studies show that BE is associated with increased risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Epidemiological studies and animal models demonstrate that chronic inflammation triggered by repeated exposure to refluxate predisposes to the development of BE and EAC. The chronic inflammation is associated with cytokine alterations. Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a cytokine that stimulates cell proliferation and apoptosis resistance is frequently increased in different cancers. Importantly, IL-6 and transcriptional factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) that is activated by IL-6 are also increased in BE and EAC. This review critically appraises the role of IL-6/STAT3 pathway in progression of BE to EAC from the published evidence currently available.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular and Moleculart Medicine, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA. kdvorak@email.arizona.edu
authors.forename: Katerina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dvorak
authors.forename: Bohuslav
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dvorak
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D001471:Barrett Esophagus / Q000378:metabolism*; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000378:metabolism; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D001647:Bile Acids and Salts; D015850:Interleukin-6; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; C494086:STAT3 protein, human
keywords: Apoptosis; Barrett’s esophagus; Bile acids; Inflammation; Interleukin 6