Fig. 7: STAT3 alleviates ulcerative colitis in vitro and in vivo.

A To determine the optimal LPS concentration, LPS was used to induce cellular inflammation in the human colonic epithelial cell line, NCM460. B After using lentivirus shSTAT3 to interfere with the expression of STAT3 in NCM460 cells, cells were co-cultured with LPS. Western blotting was performed to examine the protein expression levels of USP25, ZO-1 and occludin. C Immunofluorescence was performed to examine the expression of ZO-1 protein in NC and STAT3 low-expressing NCM460 cells with LPS treatment. D DSS was used to induce colitis in State^fl/fl and Villin-Cre State^fl/fl mice (n = 8 per group). Colons were photographed and recorded and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (n = 8 per group). Induction of colitis in mice was assessed by changes in mouse body weight (E), DAI score (F), colon length (G), and histopathological score (H). Body weight changes in mice are expressed as a percentage of the initial body weight (E). I Western blotting was performed to examine the protein expression levels of USP25, ZO-1 and occludin in colons from the four groups. J, K Serum IL-10 and IL-22 levels in State^fl/fl and Villin-Cre State^fl/fl mice (with or without DSS treatment) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ****p < 0.0001 compared with control groups.