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IMAGE: Colon tumor sections from ApcMin/+;Il11-Egfp mice were stained with anti-GFP (IL-11+ cells, green), anti-E-cadherin (white), anti-CD31 (endothelial cells, red), and DAPI (nuclei). view more
Credit: Hiroyasu Nakano
IL-11 is known to promote the development of colorectal cancer in humans and mice, but when and where IL-11 is expressed during cancer development is unknown. To address these questions experimentally, we generated reporter mice that express the green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene in interleukin 11 (IL-11)-producing (IL11+) cells in vivo. We found IL-11+ cells in the colons of this murine colitis-associated colorectal cancer model, said Dr. Nishina, the lead author of a study published April 16 in