IL-6 promoted intestinal epithelial proliferation in wound biopsy model.

<p>(A) WT mice were biopsy injured in the distal colon. Plot of the relative levels of IL-6 mRNA expression in the wound bed (relative to uninjured tissue) for various times after injury. N = 2–3 WT mice with a total of 4-6 wounds/time point. Data were shown as average ± SEM. One-way analysis of variance: F = 5.68, <i>P</i><0.01 (B) Cartoon depicting the microanatomy of a wound at day six post-biopsy; AC = adjacent crypts (green area); WC = wound channels (blue area); WAE = wound-associated epithelium overlying the wound bed (pink area). (C) Colonic sections of wounds from <i>IL-6^+/−</i> and <i>IL-6^-/-</i> mice at day six post-injury stained with mAb to BrdU (labels S-phase cells, red), mAb to β-catenin (labels epithelium, green), and bis-benzimide (nuclei, blue). Bars = 500 µm. (D) Quantification of the number of BrdU positive cells/wound adjacent crypts. Data were graphed as average ± SEM. One way analysis of variance: F = 10.5, p<0.0001. Means with different letters are significantly different by Bonferroni's multiple comparison test.