P431 Vitamin D binding protein in the limelight: IBD-related inflammation and circulating levels of vitamin D binding protein, total, free and bioavailable 25-hydroxyvitamin D

Abstract

Abstract Background Vitamin D deficiency occurs frequently in patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). While recent cohort studies support an association of vitamin D with important clinical parameters and outcomes in IBD, the complex interplay of inflammation with vitamin D metabolism in IBD poses a viscious circle. We sought to further illucidate the relation between inflammation and different vitamin D parameters. To the best our knowledge, this was the first study to focus on the relationship between vitamin D binding protein (VDBP), circulating total, free, and bioavailable 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), and inflammation, in adult IBD patients. Methods This was a comparative, single-centred, cross-sectional study in patients with IBD aged 18–65 years. Full blood count, transferrin, albumin and hsCRP were determined by standard methods. The presence/absence of inflammation was assessed based on serum hsCRP levels (cutoff <5mg/l). VDBP levels were determined by ELISA, and 25(OH)D by LCMS. Free and bioavailable vitamin D levels were calculated using the validated formula. IBM SPSS version 25.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results In total, 129 subjects with IBD (70 male/59 female; 82 CD/47 UC; mean age 41.7 ± 12.6 years) were enrolled. Of these, 38/129 had inflammation (19 m/19 f; 26 CD/12 UC; 39.6 ± 12.9 years) while 91/129 had no inflammation (40 m/51 f; 56 CD/35 UC; 42.5 ± 12.5 years). Subjects with disease activity had significantly higher leukocyte, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and hsCRP, but lower transferrin, transferrin saturation (TSAT) and albumin levels than those without inflammation (p < 0.05). Average serum levels of 25(OH)D (24.6[6.8–54.8] vs. 26.4[5.0–74.4]ng/ml), free 25(OH)D (5.9[1.3–13.3] vs. 1.0[1.0–21.4]ng/ml) and bioavailable 25(OH)D(2.3 [0.1–4.7] vs. 2.4[0.5–19.5]ng/ml) were similar in patients with vs. without inflammation (p > 0.05). However, VDBP levels were significantly higher in inflammatory conditions (359.6[252.2–530.6] mg/l vs. 327.4[183.5–560.3]mg/l; p < 0.05) and showed a positive correlation with CRP levels (0.293, p < 0.001). Ratio of free/total 25(OH)D correlated negatively with CRP levels (−0.282, p = 0.002). Conclusion High levels of circulating VDBP were associated with inflammatory activity. Moreover, free/total 25(OH)D ratio was inversely associated with inflammation. Other vitamin D parameters including total, free and bioavailable 25(OH)D showed no association with inflammation. These findings suggest that VDBP may play a bigger role than thought as a modulator of vitamin D and inflammation, and that simultaneous detection and investigation of plasma VDBP may provide additional insights into this complex interaction.