STAT3 and irritable bowel syndrome: Additionally, in a study where three different doses of RA were administered to animals subjected to an experimental model of IBD, RA has been shown to stop the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT-3) and, afterwards, reduce the action of pro-survival genes that are regulated by these transcription factors [47].