P312 - Prevalence of antibodies against thyroglobulin (anti-Tg) and thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease on scheduled infliximab or conventional treatment: a two years follow up study

Abstract

s of the 4th Congress of ECCO the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation S133 2. Effectiveness of the treatment with IFX does not seem to be related to modifications in the concentrations of the angiogenic factors, VEGF, PlGF, Ang-1, Ang-2 and Tie-2, although a larger sample size might be required to confirm it. P311 Expression of factors induced under hypoxic conditions (hypoxia inducible factors HIF1a/HIF2a) in patients with Crohn’s disease and ischemic colitis A. Theodoropoulou1 *, K. Konstantinidis1, G. Tribonias1, E. Vardas1, P. Ieromonachou1, E. Zois1, M. Koukourakis2, A. Giatromanolaki2, E. Siviridis2, G. Paspatis1. 1Venizelion General Hospital, Heraklion, Greece, 2Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece Background: HIFs are transcription factors. The concentration of these proteins is increased in the cells when they are found in conditions of hypoxia. We studied the expression of these factors in Crohn’s disease and ischemic colitis. Methods: 10 patients with ischemic colitis (3 males, 7 females mean age: 44.5) and 20 patiens with Crohn’s disease (first diagnosis) located on large bowel (11 males, 9 females, mean age: 29.1) were studied. Paraffin embedded histological specimens of large intestine were examined immunohistomichecally with the immuno-hyperoxydase method. The monoclonal antibodies ESSE and EPAS (University of Oxford), which recognize HIF1a and HIF2a, were used. Results: Crohn’s disease specimens showed intense cytoplasmic expression for the HIF1a and HIF2a in 7/20 (35%) and 5/20 (25%) cases, respectively. Immunostaining was observed in 35 70% (mean 50%) of epithelial cells for the HIF1a and the 10 50% (mean 35%) for the HIF2a. In ischemic colitis cases, intense cytoplasmic reactivity for both factors was observed in the majority of specimens (8/10 cases 80% for both factors). The expression concerned the 30 90 % (mean 70%) of cells for HIF1a and the 30 80% (mean 60%) for HIF2a. Conclusion: HIFs are expressed in the majority of cases with ischemic colitis. On the other hand, they are also expressed in 20 30% of cases with Crohn’s disease. These findings suggest a possible involvement of HIFs in the pathogenesis of these diseases. P312 Prevalence of antibodies against thyroglobulin (anti-Tg) and thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease on scheduled infliximab or conventional treatment: a two years follow up study K. Papamichael1 *, S. Ballas2, A. Smyrnidis1, C. Karakoidas1, G. Agalos1, N. Kanellopoulos1, A. Christidou1, J. Vassis3, G. Ioannou3, C. Vasilopoulos3, E. Archavlis1, I. Theodoropoulos1, A. Archimandritis2, G.J. Mantzaris1. 1A’ Gastroenterology Clinic, Evaggelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece, 2Second Department of Medicine, University of Athens Medical School, Hippokration General Hospital, Athens, Greece, 3Endocrinology and Metabolism Unit, Evaggelismos Hospital, Athens, Greece Background: Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) are often associated with autoimmune thyroiditis (AT); the latter is characterized by serum antibodies against thyroglobulin (antiTg) and thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO). Infliximab (IFX) is an anti-TNF agent which achieves and maintains remission in both Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) but may trigger the formation of autoantibodies and the development of autoimmune diseases. Aim: The study aims at assessing the prevalence and any potential clinical associations of anti-Tg and anti-TPO in IBD patients on conventional or scheduled (q8) IFX maintenance treatment. Material and Methods: Sixty two consecutive adult patients with established moderate-to-severe steroid-dependent IBD [30 males, median age (range) 28.3 (17 62) years, of median (range) disease duration 10.9 (3 21) years] were included in a prospective, single centre, two-year study. Forty patients had CD [19 (47.5%) on IFX scheduled treatment with a mean (range) no of infusions 21 (4 35)] and 22 had UC [12 (54.6%) on IFX scheduled treatment with a mean (range) no of infusions 9 (4 16)]. Patients with a history of AT or positive serum antiTg and anti-TPO antibodies at study entry were excluded. Serum levels of T3, T4, and TSH as well as serum anti-Tg and anti-TPO antibodies were measured every 6 months, for 2 years. Anti-Tg and anti-TPO antibodies were detected by a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); a positive test was defined as values over 115U/mL and 34U/mL, respectively. Results: Patients remained in a euthyroid state during the 2-year study period. No significant differences were detected in the prevalence of serum anti-Tg and/or anti-TPO antibodies between IBD patients treated with IFX or conventional treatment at baseline or at any time point during the study. Scheduled IFX treatment did not trigger the production of antiTg and/or anti-TPO antibodies. Conclusion: This data suggests that de novo formation of antiTg or anti-TPO autoantibodies in IBD patients is a rare event even in patients treated long-term with IFX scheduled therapy. P313 Circulating dendritic cells as a novel marker of disease activity in inflammatory bowel disease? P. Radwan1 *, K. Radwan-Kwiatek2, J. Tabarkiewicz2, J. Rolinski2. 1Department of Gastroenterology, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland, 2Department of Clinical Immunology, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland Dendritic cells (DCs) are thought to be involved in the maintenance of immune tolerance in the gut. Disturbances in their percentage and functional abilities may thereforebe implicated in the breakdown of gut homeostasis and development of inflammatory bowel disease. The aim of our study was to evaluate myeloid CD1c+/CD19 and plasmacytoid CD303+/CD123+ DCs in the peripheral blood in patients with active form of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) in comparison with remission and healthy controls. Peripheral blood was obtained from 67 UC, 79 CD patients in flare-up and remission. Healthy controls comprised of 71 healthy subjects (total n = 217). DCs were identified and enumerated by flow cytometry. UC and CD activity was determined by the modified Truelove Witts Score and Crohn’s disease activity index, respectively. Results: The percentage of CD1c+/CD19 DCs was significantly decreased in patients with active form of UC and CD as compared to healthy controls (p < 0.005). The CD303+/CD123+ DC percentage was significantly lower in patients with active UC versus controls and CD patients (p < 0.000005, p < 0.00001, respectively). We also found that the myeloid/plasmacytoid ratio was significantly increased in UC patients in comparison with CD patients during flare-up and with control (p < 0.005, p < 0.00005, respectively). Moreover, the percentage of both DC subpopulations in UC and CD patients in remission reached the percentage values similar to those in healthy controls. The numbers of circulating DCs significantly, inversly correlated with the disease activity and significantly positively correlated with the remission duration. Conclusion: The decrease in the peripheral blood DCs in patients with active IBD may support the hypothesis of DCs involvement in the IBD pathogenesis. The study was supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (grant No. N40203531/1140). by gest on July 1, 2016 http://eccoxfordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from