It has been previously proven that IL-17A can heighten other pro-inflammatory cytokine expressions through the activation of NF-κB and MAPKs cascades, and it is possible that in our patients IL-17A induces IL-6 expression in the epithelium, in order to potentiate the immune response to gallstone induced epithelial damage [32]. Here, NFKB1 is linked to gallstones.