Interleukin-17 Expression in the Barrett's Metaplasia-Dysplasia-Adenocarcinoma Sequence.
Introduction. This pilot study evaluated the expression of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-17 along the Barrett's metaplasia-dysplasia-adenocarcinoma sequence by establishing the expression levels of IL-17 in columnar epithelium, intestinal metaplastic cells, and dysplastic/glandular neoplastic cells. Immunohistochemical techniques were used to examine the accumulation of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-17 in forty (n = 40) formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded oesophageal archived specimens across a range of endoscopic diagnostic categories, and a highly significant difference was found, where P ≤ 0.001, in IL-17 expression (Kruskall Wallis and Mann-Whitney U) between all the cell types examined. There was also a strong positive correlation (Spearman's rank correlation) between disease progression and IL-17 expression (r s = 0.883, P < 0.001, n = 29), IL-17 expression was absent or absent/weak in columnar epithelium, weak to moderate in columnar metaplastic cells, and moderate to strong in dysplastic/neoplastic cells, which demonstrated that the elevation of IL-17 expression occurs in the progression of the disease. Understanding the differential expression of IL-17 between benign and malignant tissue potentially has a significant diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic value. Ultimately, this selective biomarker may be employed in routine clinical practice for the screening of oesophageal adenocarcinoma.
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Chester, Parkgate Road, Chester, CH1 4BJ, UK ; Aintree University Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool L97AL, UK.
J R
JR
Bannister
A L
AL
Khan
D W
DW
Eccleston
R K
RK
Deol-Poonia
S F
SF
Hughes