Interleukin-1Beta and Interleukin-8 Expression Correlate with the Histomorphological Changes in Esophageal Mucosa of Patients with Erosive and Non-Erosive Reflux Disease

Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) leads to endoscopic and histomorphological changes in the gastroesophageal (GE) mucosa. Aims: To evaluate the expression of the cytokines interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) in the GE mucosa in GERD patients and controls and to correlate the cytokine expression with the histomorphological parameters. Methods: One hundred and fifteen patients, 48 with erosive reflux disease (ERD) and 41 with non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) with typical GERD-related symptoms, and 26 controls were included. Endoscopic and histological characterization of esophagitis was performed according to the Los Angeles and Ismeil-Beigi/Vieth criteria, respectively. Mucosal gene expression levels of IL-1 beta and IL-8 were analyzed by real-time RT-PCR. Results: ERD and NERD patients revealed significant higher levels of IL-1 beta and IL-8 transcript levels in the cardia and esophageal mucosa than controls. The esophageal mucosa revealed elevated IL-8 (2.5-and 8.7-fold) and IL-1 beta (4.1-and 7.8-fold) transcript levels in NERD and ERD, respectively. Histological analysis demonstrated a stepwise increase of dilatation of intercellular spaces and the degree of basal cell hyperplasia from controls, NERD towards ERD. Gene expression levels of both cytokines correlated with histology. Conclusions: ERD and NERD are associated with an induction of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1 beta and IL-8 that correlates with histomorphological changes in esophageal mucosa. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel