STAT3 and ulcerative colitis: Furthermore, IL-6 could reduce SOCS3 expression in human mast cell and pancreatic cancer cell lines treated with IL-6 (100 ng/ml) for 24 h and in colorectal tissues from ulcerative colitis carcinogenesis animal models (ICR male mice); this downregulation of SOCS3 was associated with increased methylation of SOCS3 by DNA methyltransferase 1, increased STAT3 expression and increased STAT3 phosphorylation [26–29].