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Granulocyte protein may provide marker for inflammatory bowel disease
Last Updated: December 14, 2007 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -- Fecal S100A12, a pro-inflammatory protein secreted by granulocytes, can help distinguish inflammatory bowel disease from irritable bowel syndrome, German researchers report in the December issue of Gut.
Serum levels of S100A12 increase in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, leading Dr. D. Foell of the University of Muenster and colleagues to speculate that the protein might be a useful non-invasive marker of the disease.
To investigate further, the researchers examined fecal specimens from 171 patients with signs of intestinal inflammation and 24 healthy controls. Intestinal S100A12 expression was determined by ELISA and biopsies obtained from all patients were also examined.
Fecal levels of the protein were significantly higher in patients with active inflammatory bowel disease (2.45 mg/kg) than in those with irritable bowel syndrome or in the healthy controls (p < 0.001 for both), at 0.05 mg/kg and 0.006 mg/kg, respectively.
The marker provided an "excellent" 86% sensitivity and 96% specificity in distinguishing inflammatory bowel disease from irritable bowel syndrome. Inflammatory bowel disease patients were distinguished from controls with a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 100%.
"Fecal S100A12 was also elevated in bacterial enteritis but not in viral gastroenteritis," the researchers report.
Given these findings, the researchers suggest that "once bacterial enteritis is ruled out, fecal S100A12 may be an excellent non-invasive marker of disease activity of inflammatory bowel disease."
Granulocyte protein may provide marker for inflammatory bowel disease 
