Serum trefoil factor 3 predicts disease activity in patients with ulcerative colitis.

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the role of serum trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) as a biomarker of disease activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and to compare TFF3 values with those of fecal calprotectin (FC). 128 patients with IBD were divided into four groups: 1) active ulcerative colitis (UC); 2) quiescent UC; 3) active Crohn's disease (CD); 4) quiescent CD. The serum levels of TFF3 and FC levels were assessed in all patients and 16 controls. Patients with active UC had higher TFF3 levels than those with quiescent UC (p<0.001), those with active (p<0.001) or quiescent CD (p<0.001) and controls (p <0.001). We found a correlation between TFF3 and FC values in patients with active (r = 0.478, p = 0.006) and quiescent UC (r=0.528, p=0.002). TFF3 levels correlated with endoscopic activity in UC (evaluated by UC Endoscopic Index of Severity - UCEIS) (r=0.662, p<0.001). Serum TFF3 is able to identify patients with active UC. It could be used as a marker to predict disease activity in patients with UC.