Serum Levels of Chemerin in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease as an Indicator of Anti-TNF Treatment Efficacy.

Marcin Sochal,Agata Gabryelska,Piotr Białasiewicz,Ewa Małecka-Wojciesko,Jakub Fichna,Renata Talar-Wojnarowska

doi:10.3390/jcm10194615

Abstract

Chemerin belongs to the adipokines—proteins secreted by white adipose tissue. It plays an important role in angiogenesis and metabolism and its levels correlate with inflammation severity in many clinical states. Circulating chemerin levels in IBD are only rarely evaluated, with inconsistent results. The possible impact of anti-TNF therapy treatment in IBD on chemerin levels has not been addressed. The study aim was to evaluate the serum levels of chemerin in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), depending on disease severity as well as anti-TNF treatment. Serum chemerin was measured with ELISA in 77 patients with IBD as well as in 42 healthy controls (HCs). Twenty-six participants who underwent anti-TNF therapy were re-examined after 14 weeks. Overall, IBD patients had significantly higher serum chemerin levels than HCs. In patients with IBD exacerbation, chemerin levels were significantly higher compared to the remission group. Serum chemerin levels were significantly higher in UC patients compared to CD. Chemerin correlated with the severity of CD, but not with UC. Serum levels of chemerin decreased significantly after 14 weeks of anti-TNF treatment. Chemerin correlated with the clinical severity of IBD, and its levels decreased after anti-TNF treatment, which suggests its relationship with disease activity. It may be assumed that chemerin levels may possibly be useful for anti-TNF clinical course and treatment monitoring.

Highlights

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic immune disease, with two main subtypes: Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC)
Only patients with active disease had significantly higher serum levels of chemerin than healthy controls (HCs) (p = 0.001), which was not observed in patients in remission
We have shown significantly increased levels of chemerin in IBD patients compared to HCs

Summary

Introduction

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic immune disease, with two main subtypes: Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Adipokines are hormones secreted by white adipose tissue (WAT) [2] One of these is chemerin, which has a pro- and anti-inflammatory function, which was first identified in 1997 in keratinocyte and fibroblast cultures [3]. It is synthesized as an inactive prochemerin, which is converted into its active form by serine proteases. Chemerin is secreted in large amounts in WAT, and in the skin, colon, and lungs [4,5]. It binds to three types of receptors: ChemR23, GPR-1, and CCRL2 [6]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion