GFAP and inflammatory bowel disease: Another study that examined mRNA expression of COX-2 (an enzyme related to production and release of PGE2) and GFAP (a marker for astrogliosis) in different brain regions (hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus) concluded that IBD can lead to neuroinflammation in a bottom-up manner, and has region specific effects (Do and Woo, 2018).