ROLE OF CHEMERIN IN THE PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES

Abstract

Abstract Background and aims Chemerin belongs to adipokines, which are proteins secreted by white adipose tissue. It has important role in angiogenesis, metabolism and correlates with severity of inflammation. The study aimed to investigate the correlation between the serum level of chemerin and the severity of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and examine the influence of anti-TNF treatment on the chemerin level. Methods One-hundred and nineteen participants were recruited for this study: 77 with IBD and 42 healthy control (HC). Venous blood was collected from all study participants. Twenty-six patients, who underwent 14-week anti-TNF therapy were re-examined (infliximab or adalimumab). The measurements were performed by ELISA method, according to the protocol supplied by the producer. The study was funded by Medical University of Lodz Grant (#564/1-000-00/564-20-024). Results Serum chemerin level were higher in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients (557.4 ng/ml ±219.9) compared to Crohn’s disease (CD; 446.0 ±252.6; p=0.048). IBD patients (492.3 ng/ml ±244.3) achieved higher chemerin level than HC control (404.5 ng/ml ±194.2; p=0.047). Patients with IBD exacerbation (559.1 ng/ml ±235.6) achieved higher chemerin levels compared to remission (381.7 ng/ml ±220.2; p=0.002). Chemerin correlated with the severity of the clinical condition of the CD (Harvey-Bradshaw index; r=0.478, p=0.001), but not with the severity of UC (Partial Mayo Score; r=0.03, p= 0.788). Serum level of chemerin decreased after 14 weeks of anti-TNF treatment (519.6 ng/ml IQR: 393.2–727.0 vs. 351.5 ng/ml IQR: 229.3–424.2; p=0.002). Patients treated with steroids obtained higher concentrations of chemern compared to patients who did not receive such treatment (p=0.049). Conclusions Chemerin correlates with the clinical severity of IBD and its level lowers after anti-TNF treatment, which suggests its participation in inflammation. However, many factors affect its concentration thus it does not seem to present high diagnostic value or present as a possible therapeutic target.