Ahrens Theresa D, Lutz Lisa, Lassmann Silke, Werner Martin
Institute for Surgical Pathology, Medical Center and Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Pathobiology. 2017;84(2):87-98. doi: 10.1159/000447779. Epub 2016 Sep 23.
Barrett's esophagus (BE) is defined as metaplasia of the esophageal squamous epithelium with multiple cell layers into a single layer of intestinal columnar epithelial cells - or, in other words, skyscrapers are turned into town houses. The underlying pathomechanism(s) and the cell of origin of BE lesions have not been defined yet. However, four potential hypotheses for BE development have been suggested. The morphological changes during BE development are associated with rather well-described aberrant gene/protein expression patterns. However, the potential key regulators of this conversion process are still unclear. The process of metaplastic conversion is difficult to monitor in a spatiotemporal manner in vitro, and robust models are lacking. There is therefore a need for novel experimental systems. This review focuses on potential key regulators, microenvironmental influences, epigenetic alterations and experimental research systems related to BE.
巴雷特食管（BE）被定义为食管鳞状上皮化生，从多层细胞转变为单层肠柱状上皮细胞——或者换句话说，摩天大楼变成了联排别墅。BE病变的潜在发病机制和起源细胞尚未明确。然而，已经提出了四种关于BE发展的潜在假说。BE发展过程中的形态学变化与描述较为详尽的异常基因/蛋白表达模式相关。然而，这种转化过程的潜在关键调节因子仍不清楚。在体外以时空方式监测化生转化过程很困难，并且缺乏可靠的模型。因此，需要新的实验系统。本综述重点关注与BE相关的潜在关键调节因子、微环境影响、表观遗传改变和实验研究系统。
