Original Article
Copyright ©2013 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. May 7, 2013; 19(17): 2638-2649
Published online May 7, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i17.2638
Expression of interleukin-22/STAT3 signaling pathway in ulcerative colitis and related carcinogenesis
Lian-Zhen Yu, Hai-Yang Wang, Shu-Ping Yang, Zhi-Ping Yuan, Fang-Yuan Xu, Chao Sun, Rui-Hua Shi
Lian-Zhen Yu, Shu-Ping Yang, Zhi-Ping Yuan, Fang-Yuan Xu, Chao Sun, Rui-Hua Shi, Department of Gastroenterology, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China
Hai-Yang Wang, Department of Internal Medicine, Affiliated Mingde Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Yu LZ and Wang HY contributed equally to this work; Wang HY, Yu LZ and Shi RH designed the research; Wang HY, Yu LZ, Yang SP, Yuan ZP, Xu FY and Sun C performed the research; Wang HY, Yu LZ, Yuan ZP, Xu FY and Sun C analyzed the data; Wang HY and Yu LZ wrote the paper.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81072692 and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China, No. 10KJB320007
Correspondence to: Rui-Hua Shi, MD, PhD, Department of Gastroenterology, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China. ruihuashi@126.com
Telephone: +86-25-83674636 Fax: +86-25-83674636
Received: August 14, 2012
Revised: January 31, 2013
Accepted: February 8, 2013
Published online: May 7, 2013
Core Tip

Core tip: This study investigates the expression of interleukin (IL)-22, IL-22R1, IL-23, and STAT3 in ulcerative colitis (UC) and UC-related carcinogenesis (UC-CRC) tissues from human and mouse. The results showed that IL-22 and related proteins were closely related to the severity of colitis, and the expression level of IL-22 and related proteins was higher in dysplasia tissues. IL-22/STAT3 signaling pathway was related to UC and UC-CRC. IL-22 can be used as a biomarker for determining the severity of UC and as an interesting therapeutic target in active UC and UC-CRC.