High levels of proinflammatory cytokines, but not markers of tissue injury, in unaffected intestinal areas from patients with IBD

Abstract

Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) are severeintestinal inflammatory conditions which result from adysregulated proinflammatory response to components ofthe gut microflora, inadequately controlled by normalregulatory/homeostatic mechanisms [1]. The expression ofproinflammatory cytokines is increased in inflammed biopsyareas from both UC and CD, and the effect of these cytokineson the intestine has been directly related with the inductionof tissue injury (destruction) [2,3]