What lurks beneath: IL-11, via Stat3, promotes inflammation-associated gastric tumorigenesis

Chronic inflammation in the stomach induces cellular transformation and gastric cancer primarily in the distal stomach or antrum. In this issue of the JCI, a study in mice by Ernst et al. provides new insight into the role of IL-11 and its glycoprotein 130 (gp130) receptor in inflammation-associated gastric epithelial cell oncogenic transformation, which they show is mediated by and dependent on increased activation of Stat3 and, to a lesser extent, Stat1 (see the related article beginning on page 1727). Prior studies from this group have shown that Stat3 hyperactivity stimulates the TGF-β inhibitor Smad7. Collectively, the studies suggest that an important pathway of oncogenic transformation in the stomach is through suppression of growth inhibitory signals, such as members of the TGF-β family, that originate from the stroma.