IL6 and inflammatory bowel disease: Consistent with the dual RNA-seq data, coculturing of GES-1 cells with three H. pylori strains, namely, TN2GF4, NCTC 11637, and PMSS1, resulted in significantly elevated expression of IBD-associated genes, including IL6, IL12, IL23, and TNFA, upon H. pylori infection, regardless of whether eliminating extracellular pathogens by gentamicin or not (Fig. 5C).