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Expression of IFN-γ and IL-4 in the Esophageal Mucosa of Patients with Reflux Esophagitis and Barrett’s Esophagus and Their Relationship with Endoscopic and Histologic Grading

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Abstract

Introduction

This study investigated the expression of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) in the esophageal biopsies from patients with reflux esophagitis (RE) and Barrett’s esophagus (BE) and their relationships with endoscopic grading and histologic grading.

Methods

Ninety individuals were recruited (30 RE, 30 BE, and 30 normal control) and underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with esophageal biopsy. Immunohistochemistry was used to semi-quantitatively detect the expression of IFN-γ and IL-4 in the specimens.

Results

IFN-γ was overexpressed in BE and RE compared with the control (P < 0.01), whereas IL-4 was up-regulated in BE compared with RE and control (P < 0.01). A positive correlation between the level of IFN-γ and the endoscopic grading (r = 0.509, P < 0.01) and histologic grading of RE (r = 0.493, P < 0.01) was observed.

Conclusions

Th1 and Th2 immune responses play different roles in the development of RE and BE. Th1 immune response is the major pathway for RE development, whereas both Th1 and Th2 immune responses are implicated in BE pathogenesis. The expression of IFN-γ is associated with the endoscopic and histologic grading of RE.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the Janssen Grant of China (YQZ, JRC01) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (YL, 30901782).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 107 West Yanjiang Road, 510120, Guangzhou, China

    Ying-Qiang Zhong & Ying Lin

  2. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Dongguan People’s Hospital, Dongguan, China

    Zhe Xu

Authors
  1. Ying-Qiang Zhong
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  2. Ying Lin
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  3. Zhe Xu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ying Lin.

Additional information

Ying-Qiang Zhong and Ying Lin authors are contributed equally to this work.

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Zhong, YQ., Lin, Y. & Xu, Z. Expression of IFN-γ and IL-4 in the Esophageal Mucosa of Patients with Reflux Esophagitis and Barrett’s Esophagus and Their Relationship with Endoscopic and Histologic Grading. Dig Dis Sci 56, 2865–2870 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-011-1696-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-011-1696-9

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