Cytokine-induced chromatin modifications of the type I collagen alpha 2 gene during intestinal endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

Background Fibrosis of the intestine is currently an irreversible complication of Inflammatory Bowel Disease yet little is understood of the underlying pathogenesis and anti-fibrotic strategies remain elusive. To develop effective therapies, knowledge of the mechanism of transcription and excessive deposition of type I collagen - a hallmark of fibrosis, is needed. We have shown previously that endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) contributes to the pool of intestinal fibrotic cells and that a cytokine cocktail (IL1-β, TNF-α and TGF-β) induces Collagen I alpha 2 (COL1A2) mRNA and protein.