The Pathogenesis of Barrett’s Esophagus: Secondary Bile Acids Upregulate Intestinal Differentiation Factor CDX2 Expression in Esophageal Cells

Introduction Clinical evidence strongly suggests that bile acids are important in the development of Barrett’s esophagus, although the mechanism remains unknown. Caudal-related homeobox 2 (CDX2) is a transcription factor recently implicated in early differentiation and maintenance of normal intestinal epithelium and is suggested to play a key role in the pathogenesis of intestinal metaplasia in Barrett’s esophagus.