Gp130 Signaling Promotes Development of Acute Experimental Colitis by Facilitating Early Neutrophil/Macrophage Recruitment and Activation

IL-6 is known to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of chronic intestinal inflammation by modulating T cell functions. Here we investigated the role of gp130, the common signal transducer for all IL-6 cytokines, in a murine model of acute T-cell independent colitis in order to better characterize the impact of gp130 on innate immune cells and the early stages of inflammation. Experimental colitis was induced by dextran sulfate sodium treatment of mice with inducible systemic deletion of gp130 (MxCre/gp130), macrophage/neutrophil specific gp130-deficiency (LysCre/gp130) or bone marrow chimeric mice. Systemic…