重症溃疡性结肠炎患者血清NOD样受体蛋白3、半胱氨酸天冬氨酸特异性蛋白酶1和核因子κB mRNA表达水平及临床意义

Abstract

Objective To investigate expressions of serum NOD-like receptor protein-3 (NLRP3), cysteiny aspartate specific protease-1 (CASP1) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) mRNA in patients with severe ulcerative colitis (UC) and its clinical significance. Methods A total of 116 patients with severe UC were selected as the severe UC group and 50 healthy subjects were used as the control group in the Department of Gastroenterology, Wenzhou Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital. The expressions of NLRP3, CASP1 and NF-κB mRNA in serum were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), and expressions of interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) and IL-18 in serum were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Correlation between serum NLRP3, CASP1, NF-κB mRNA and IL-1β, IL-18 expressions in patients with severe UC was detected by Pearson correlation analysis. Results The mRNA expressions of NLRP3 [(6.3 ± 1.1) vs. (1.2 ± 0.3)], CASP1 [(5.4 ± 1.1) vs. (1.1 ± 0.3)] and NF-κB [(6.73 ± 1.13) vs. (0.51 ± 0.15)] in the severe UC group were significantly higher than those in the control group (t= 32.016, 27.873, 38.710; all P < 0.001). The mRNA expressions of NLRP3 [(2.4 ± 0.6), (4.5 ± 1.1), (6.8 ± 1.2)], CASP1 [(2.2 ± 0.4), (3.9 ± 1.0), (5.9 ± 1.1)] and NF-κB [(2.5 ± 0.6), (5.4 ± 1.2), (7.2 ± 1.4)] in grade Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ patients with severe UC were significantly different (F= 49.852, 43.224, 33.293; all P < 0.001). Further comparison showed that expressions of NLRP3, CASP1 and NF-κB mRNA in grade Ⅱ and Ⅲ UC patients were significantly higher than those in grade Ⅰ patients (all P < 0.05), and the expression levels of NLRP3, CASP1 and NF-κB mRNA in grade Ⅲ patients were significantly higher than those in grade Ⅱ patients (all P < 0.05). The levels of serum IL-1β [(90 ± 7) ng/L vs. (69 ± 7) ng/L] and IL-18 [(121 ± 4) ng/L vs.(102 ± 6) ng/L] in the severe UC group were significantly higher than those in control group (t= 16.555, 24.249; both P < 0.001). There were positive correlations between expressions of NLRP3 and CASP1, NF-κB mRNA in patients with severe UC (r= 0.767, 0.676; both P < 0.001), but no correlation between expressions of CASP1 and NF-κB mRNA(r= 0.263, P= 0.175). The levels of NLRP3, CASP1, NF-κB mRNA were positively correlated with IL-1β (r= 3.372, 3.724, 3.424; P= 0.035, 0.011, 0.026) and IL-18 (r= 2.963, 3.513, 3.312; P= 0.043, 0.018, 0.023). Conclusions The levels of serum NLRP3, CASP1 and NF-κB significantly increased in severe UC patients, and the expression of NLRP3 was positively correlated with CASP1 and NF-κB. Clinical progress of UC can be judged by expression levels of NLRP3, CASP1 and NF-κB as they are involved in the pathological process of severe UC. Key words: Colitis, ulcerative; NOD-like receptor protein-3; Cysteiny aspartate specific protease-1; Nuclear factor-kappa B; Pathological grading; Relevance