Differential mucosal expression of Th17-related genes between the inflamed colon and ileum of patients with inflammatory bowel disease

摘要

BackgroundImmunological and genetic findings implicate Th17 effector cytokines in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Expression of Th17 pathway-associated genes is mainly studied in colonic disease. The present study assessed the mRNA expression levels of Th17 effector cytokines (IL17A, IL17F, IL21, IL22 and IL26) and genes involved in differentiation (IL6, IL1B, TGFB1, IL23A and STAT3) and recruitment of Th17 cells (CCR6 and CCL20) by quantitative real-time PCR analysis of colonic and ileal biopsies from 22 healthy control subjects, 26 patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and 12 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Inflammation was quantified by measuring expression of the inflammatory mediators IL8 and TNF.