Our aims were ( 1) to study the expression of cytokines and markers of tissue damage in affected and unaffected tissue areas from IBD, ( 2) to correlate cytokine profiles to potential activation mechanisms of mucosal damage in the intestine from these chronic inflammatory diseases, and ( 3) to determine the potential role of different regulatory mediators, including certain cytokines and SOCS family members, in the preservation of histological integrity in unaffected tissue areas. Here, CISH is linked to inflammatory bowel disease.