Chronic Immune-mediated Disease Research Articles

Elevated serum levels of TNF-α and IL-17 in psoriatic and rheumatoid arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are chronic inflammatory immune-mediated rheumatic diseases, in which cytokine dysregulation is key for pathogenesis. In terms of the specific processes involved in predominantly enthesopathic inflammation and predominantly synovial inflammation, PsA and RA are distinct disease entities. The aim of the present study was to investigate the serum cytokine expression profiles of TNF-α and IL-17 in the two inflammatory arthropathies, discussing their role in the context of disease activity assessed by means of DAS28-CRP, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP). The study included 32 patients with PsA, 30 with RA and 20 healthy subjects. In patients with RA and PsA, higher serum levels of both cytokines were measured compared to healthy controls, with the difference being significant, except for TNF-α for patients with PsA, whose concentration was numerically but not significantly higher compared to healthy individuals. We also recorded a significant increase in circulating TNF-α in RA versus PsA, with no difference for IL-17 in the two inflammatory joint diseases. The two studied cytokines did not show a significant difference in serum concentrations according to the state of the disease activity (DAS28- CRP < 3.2 vs. DAS28- CRP ≥ 3.2) in both PsA and RA, as well as association with clinical and laboratory parameters of activity from correlation analyses, supporting the claim that they are not useful markers for its assessment. In conclusion, both cytokines are clearly abundant in the circulation in conditions of both inflammatory arthropathies. The TNF-α and IL-17 pathways are important links and an active participant in these types of rheumatic inflammation.

Biologic Therapies Decrease Disease Severity and Improve Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Psoriasis Patients.

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated chronic skin disease that is associated with a significant psychological burden. A newer line of therapy is represented by biologic agents. Our study aimed to evaluate the effect of biologic therapies in the treatment of psoriasis concerning both disease severity and psychological comorbidity. We performed a prospective case-control comparison to evaluate the prevalence of depression and anxiety in psoriasis patients and unaffected individuals. All patients were recruited between October 2017 and February 2021. Baseline depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), PASI, and DLQI scores were noted. Then, we evaluated the efficacy of biologic treatment in reducing these scores at 6 months of therapy. Patients were treated with either ixekizumab, secukinumab, guselkumab, certolizumab, ustekinumab, risankizumab, or adalimumab. 106 bio-naïve patients with psoriasis and 106 controls without the disease were included in this study. Depression and anxiety were significantly more common among psoriasis patients than in unaffected individuals (p < 0.0001). Female patients presented both depression and anxiety more frequently than men in both case and control groups. Disease severity was significantly associated with worsened depression and anxiety symptoms. Biologic therapy resulted in a significant decrease in all four scores at the 6-month mark for each patient (p < 0.0001). Only an improved PASI correlated significantly with lower depression and anxiety scores (p < 0.005), whereas a decreased DLQI did not (p > 0.955). None of the seven biologic agents used was discovered to be superior. biologic therapies are effective in decreasing both disease severity and alleviating depression and anxiety symptoms in psoriasis.

Molecular treatment trajectories within psoriatic T lymphocytes: a mini review.

Multiple biological processes in mammalian cells are implicated in psoriasis (Ps) development and progression, as well as in the pathogenic mechanisms associated with this chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disease (IMID). These refer to molecular cascades contributing to the pathological topical and systemic reactions in Ps, where local skin-resident cells derived from peripheral blood and skin-infiltrating cells originating from the circulatory system, in particular T lymphocytes (T cells), are key actors. The interplay between molecular components of T cell signalling transduction and their involvement in cellular cascades (i.e. throughout Ca2+/CaN/NFAT, MAPK/JNK, PI3K/Akt/mTOR, JAK/STAT pathways) has been of concern in the last few years; this is still less characterised than expected, even though some evidence has accumulated to date identifying them as potential objects in the management of Ps. Innovative therapeutic strategies for the use of compounds such as synthetic Small Molecule Drugs (SMDs) and their various combinations proved to be promising tools for the treatment of Ps via incomplete blocking, also known as modulation of disease-associated molecular tracks. Despite recent drug development having mainly centred on biological therapies for Ps, yet displaying serious limitations, SMDs acting on specific pathway factor isoforms or single effectors within T cell, could represent a valid innovation in real-world treatment patterns in patients with Ps. Of note, due to the intricate crosstalk between intracellular pathways, the use of selective agents targeting proper tracks is, in our opinion, a challenge for modern science regarding the prevention of disease at its onset and also in the prediction of patient response to Ps treatment.

Phage-display immunoprecipitation sequencing of the antibody epitope repertoire in inflammatory bowel disease reveals distinct antibody signatures

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), e.g., Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), are chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. A comprehensive overview of an IBD-specific antibody epitope repertoire is, however, lacking. Using high-throughput phage-display immunoprecipitation sequencing (PhIP-Seq), we identified antibodies against 344,000 antimicrobial, immune, and food antigens in 497 individuals with IBD compared with 1,326 controls. IBD was characterized by 373 differentially abundant antibody responses (202 overrepresented and 171 underrepresented), with 17% shared by both IBDs, 55% unique to CD, and 28% unique to UC. Antibody reactivities against bacterial flagellins dominated in CD and were associated with ileal involvement, fibrostenotic disease, and anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibody positivity, but not with fecal microbiome composition. Antibody epitope repertoires accurately discriminated CD from controls (area under the curve [AUC]= 0.89), and similar discrimination was achieved when using only ten antibodies (AUC= 0.87). Individuals with IBD thus show a distinct antibody repertoire against selected peptides, allowing clinical stratification and discovery of immunological targets.

The State of the Art of Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) represents a chronic immune-mediated neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system that generally debuts around the age of 20-30 years. Still, in recent years, MS has been increasingly recognized among the pediatric population, being characterized by several peculiar features compared to adult-onset disease. Unfortunately, the etiology and disease mechanisms are poorly understood, rendering the already limited MS treatment options with uncertain efficacy and safety in pediatric patients. Thus, this review aims to shed some light on the progress in MS therapeutic strategies specifically addressed to children and adolescents. In this regard, the present paper briefly discusses the etiology, risk factors, comorbidities, and diagnosis possibilities for pediatric-onset MS (POMS), further moving to a detailed presentation of current treatment strategies, recent clinical trials, and emerging alternatives. Particularly, promising care solutions are indicated, including new treatment formulations, stem cell therapies, and cognitive training methods.

Early-life interactions between the microbiota and immune system: impact on immune system development and atopic disease.

Prenatal and early postnatal life represent key periods of immune system development. In addition to genetics and host biology, environment has a large and irreversible role in the immune maturation and health of an infant. One key player in this process is the gut microbiota, a diverse community of microorganisms that colonizes the human intestine. The diet, environment and medical interventions experienced by an infant determine the establishment and progression of the intestinal microbiota, which interacts with and trains the developing immune system. Several chronic immune-mediated diseases have been linked to an altered gut microbiota during early infancy. The recent rise in allergic disease incidence has been explained by the 'hygiene hypothesis', which states that societal changes in developed countries have led to reduced early-life microbial exposures, negatively impacting immunity. Although human cohort studies across the globe have established a correlation between early-life microbiota composition and atopy, mechanistic links and specific host-microorganism interactions are still being uncovered. Here, we detail the progression of immune system and microbiota maturation in early life, highlight the mechanistic links between microbes and the immune system, and summarize the role of early-life host-microorganism interactions in allergic disease development.

Added value of lymphocyte subpopulations in the classification of Sjögren's syndrome

Sjögren's Syndrome (SjS) is a chronic systemic immune-mediated inflammatory disease characterized by lymphocytic infiltration and consequent lesion of exocrine glands. SjS diagnosis and classification remains a challenge, especially at SjS onset, when patients may have milder phenotypes of the disease or uncommon presentations. New biomarkers are needed for the classification of SjS, thus, we aimed to evaluate the added-value of lymphocyte subpopulations in discriminating SjS and non-Sjögren Sicca patients. Lymphocyte subsets from 62 SjS and 63 Sicca patients were characterized by flow cytometry. The 2002 AECG and the 2016 ACR/EULAR SjS classification criteria were compared with clinical diagnosis. The added discriminative ability of joining lymphocytic populations to classification criteria was assessed by the area under the Receiver-Operating-Characteristic Curve (AUC). Considering clinical diagnosis as the gold-standard, we obtained an AUC = 0.952 (95% CI: 0.916–0.989) for AECG and an AUC = 0.921 (95% CI: 0.875–0.966) for ACR/EULAR criteria. Adding Tfh and Bm1 subsets to AECG criteria, performance increased, attaining an AUC = 0.985 (95% CI: 0.968–1.000) (p = 0.021). Th1/Breg-like CD24hiCD27+ and switched-memory B-cells maximized the AUC of ACR/EULAR criteria to 0.953 (95% CI: 0.916–0.990) (p = 0.043). Our exploratory study supports the potential use of lymphocyte subpopulations, such as unswitched memory B cells, to improve the performance of classification criteria, since their discriminative ability increases when specific subsets are added to the criteria.

Updates in psoriasis diagnosis and treatment status in China: results from the National Psoriasis Center Registry.

Updates in psoriasis diagnosis and treatment status in China: results from the National Psoriasis Center Registry.

TRPV1 Channel in Pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract—Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) including Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) is a group of chronic immune-mediated diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) with complex pathophysiology and pathogenesis. Although the exact pathophysiological mechanisms are poorly understood, in recent years, studies have described the activation and alteration of nociceptor functions and their signaling pathways in the inflammation development in IBD and associated hyperalgesia, in particular, the key role of the transient receptor potential vanilloid channel 1 (TRPV1) has been demonstrated. The highest expression level of TRPV1 is specific for sensory neurons, however, it can also be expressed by other cell types, including epithelial cells of the intestine and bladder, immunoreactive cells such as lymphocytes, mast and dendritic cells, vascular endothelial cells, etc. An increasing number of studies in various experimental models, including humans, demonstrate that activation of the TRP superfamily channels, which includes TRPV1, can significantly enhance visceral hypersensitivity, mediate the development of inflammation and pain. In this review, we highlight the present knowledge on the structure, functions and potential role of TRPV1 in the pathogenesis of IBD. Much attention is paid to the discussion of the signaling pathways underlying TRPV1 modulation. We propose that further research in this area will contribute to a better understanding of the general mechanisms of inflammatory and pain response formation and may facilitate the development of new therapeutic targets for the treatment of IBD.

A Novel E3 Probiotics Formula Restored Gut Dysbiosis and Remodelled Gut Microbial Network and Microbiome Dysbiosis Index (MDI) in Southern Chinese Adult Psoriasis Patients.

Psoriasis is a common chronic immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease with the association of various comorbidities. Despite the introduction of highly effective biologic therapies over the past few decades, the exact trigger for an immune reaction in psoriasis is unclear. With the majority of immune cells residing in the gut, the effect of gut microbiome dysbiosis goes beyond the gastrointestinal site and may exacerbate inflammation and regulate the immune system elsewhere, including but not limited to the skin via the gut-skin axis. In order to delineate the role of the gut microbiome in Southern Chinese psoriasis patients, we performed targeted 16S rRNA sequencing and comprehensive bioinformatic analysis to compare the gut microbiome profile of 58 psoriasis patients against 49 healthy local subjects presumably with similar lifestyles. Blautia wexlerae and Parabacteroides distasonis were found to be enriched in psoriasis patients and in some of the healthy subjects, respectively. Metabolic functional pathways were predicted to be differentially abundant, with a clear shift toward SCFA synthesis in healthy subjects. The alteration of the co-occurrence network was also evident in the psoriasis group. In addition, we also profiled the gut microbiome in 52 of the 58 recruited psoriasis patients after taking 8 weeks of an orally administrated novel E3 probiotics formula (with prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics). The Dermatological Life Quality Index (p = 0.009) and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (p < 0.001) were significantly improved after taking 8 weeks of probiotics with no adverse effect observed. We showed that probiotics could at least partly restore gut dysbiosis via the modulation of the gut microbiome. Here, we also report the potential application of a machine learning-derived gut dysbiosis index based on a quantitative PCR panel (AUC = 0.88) to monitor gut dysbiosis in psoriasis patients. To sum up, our study suggests the gut microbial landscape differed in psoriasis patients at the genera, species, functional and network levels. Additionally, the dysbiosis index could be a cost-effective and rapid tool to monitor probiotics use in psoriasis patients.

Tobacco Alkaloid Assessment in a DSS-Induced Colitis Mouse Model with a Fully Humanized Immune System

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) refers to chronic intestinal immune-mediated diseases including two main disease manifestations: ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). Epidemiological, clinical, and preclinical evidence has highlighted the potential anti-inflammatory properties of naturally occurring alkaloids. In the present study, we investigated the potential anti-inflammatory activities of the tobacco alkaloids nicotine and anatabine in a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced UC mouse model with a fully humanized immune system. Our results show that nicotine significantly reduced all acute colitis symptoms and improved colitis-specific endpoints, including histopathologically assessed colon inflammation, tissue damage, and mononuclear cell infiltration. The tobacco alkaloid anatabine showed similar effectiveness trends, although they were generally weaker or not significant. Gene expression analysis in the context of biological network models of IBD further pinpointed a possible mechanism by which nicotine attenuated DSS-induced colitis in humanized mice. The current study enables further investigation of possible molecular mechanisms by which tobacco alkaloids attenuate UC symptoms.

Memory CD4+T cell profile is associated with unfavorable prognosis in IgG4-related disease: Risk stratification by machine-learning

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a chronic immune-mediated disease with heterogeneity. In this study, we used machine-learning approaches to characterize the immune cell profiles and to identify the heterogeneity of IgG4-RD. The XGBoost model discriminated IgG4-RD from HCs with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.963 in the testing set. There were two clusters of IgG4-RD by k-means clustering of immunological profiles. Cluster 1 featured higher proportions of memory CD4+T cell and were at higher risk of unfavorable prognosis in the follow-up, while cluster 2 featured higher proportions of naïve CD4+T cell. In the multivariate logistic regression, cluster 2 was shown to be a protective factor (OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.10–0.91, P = 0.011). Therefore, peripheral immunophenotyping might potentially stratify patients with IgG4-RD and predict those patients with a higher risk of relapse at early time.

Factors and cytokine signatures associated with the response to therapy in patients with primary biliary cholangitis-autoimmune hepatitis overlap syndrome: a real-world study.

Factors and cytokine signatures associated with the response to therapy in patients with primary biliary cholangitis-autoimmune hepatitis overlap syndrome: a real-world study.

Imatinib mitigates experimentally-induced ulcerative colitis: Possible contribution of NF-kB/JAK2/STAT3/COX2 signaling pathway

RationaleUlcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic immune-mediated disease characterized by recurrent inflammation, damage, and alteration of the large intestine's mucosal and submucosal surfaces. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the impact of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (imatinib) on experimentally induced UC in rats via acetic acid (AA). MethodsMale rats were randomly assigned to four groups: control, AA, AA + imatinib (10 mg/kg), and AA + imatinib (20 mg/kg). Imatinib (10 and 20 mg/kg/day) was orally supplied by oral syringe for one week before induction of UC. On the eighth day, Rats received enemas containing a 4 % solution of acetic acid to induce colitis. One day after inducing colitis, rats were euthanized and their colons were subjected to morphological, biochemical, histological, and immunohistochemical analysis. ResultsImatinib pretreatment significantly decreased macroscopic and histological damage scores, decreased disease activity index as well as colon mass index. In addition, imatinib successfully lowered the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) in colonic tissues and enhanced superoxide dismutase activity (SOD) and glutathione content (GSH). Imatinib also reduced colonic levels of inflammatory interleukins (IL-23, IL-17, IL-6), JAK2 and STAT3. Furthermore, imatinib suppressed nuclear transcription factor kappa B (NF-kB/p65) level, and COX2 expression in colonic tissues. SignificanceImatinib may be a viable therapy option for UC as it halts the interaction network of NF-kB/JAK2/STAT3/COX2 signaling pathway.

Psoriatic Arthritis: Pathogenesis and Targeted Therapies.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA), a heterogeneous chronic inflammatory immune-mediated disease characterized by musculoskeletal inflammation (arthritis, enthesitis, spondylitis, and dactylitis), generally occurs in patients with psoriasis. PsA is also associated with uveitis and inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis). To capture these manifestations as well as the associated comorbidities, and to recognize their underlining common pathogenesis, the name of psoriatic disease was coined. The pathogenesis of PsA is complex and multifaceted, with an interplay of genetic predisposition, triggering environmental factors, and activation of the innate and adaptive immune system, although autoinflammation has also been implicated. Research has identified several immune-inflammatory pathways defined by cytokines (IL-23/IL-17, TNF), leading to the development of efficacious therapeutic targets. However, heterogeneous responses to these drugs occur in different patients and in the different tissues involved, resulting in a challenge to the global management of the disease. Therefore, more translational research is necessary in order to identify new targets and improve current disease outcomes. Hopefully, this may become a reality through the integration of different omics technologies that allow better understanding of the relevant cellular and molecular players of the different tissues and manifestations of the disease. In this narrative review, we aim to provide an updated overview of the pathophysiology, including the latest findings from multiomics studies, and to describe current targeted therapies.

A real-world characterization of a cohort with eosinophilic esophagitis: looking for severity biomarkers.

Background. Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an immune-mediated chronic esophageal disease, with frequent association with atopy. A validated non/minimally invasive biomarker of disease severity has not been identified. We aimed to determine if sensitization to airborne and food allergens correlates with disease severity, and to evaluate the association between clinical and laboratory characteristics with the severity of EoE. Methods. Retrospective study of EoE patients observed in a differentiated center, 2009-2021. The association between patients' diagnosis age, disease duration before diagnosis, sensitization to airborne/food allergens, serum total IgE and peripheral blood eosinophil values and severe clinical disease (presence of symptoms with a significant impact on quality of life and/or ≥ 1 hospital admission due to EoE complications, namely severe dysphagia, food impaction or esophageal perforation) and histological severe disease (≥ 55 eos/hpf and/or microabscesses in esophageal biopsies) was evaluated. Results. 92 patients were observed, 83% male, 87% atopic. There was a mean delay in diagnosis of 4 years (range 0-31). 84% had aeroallergen sensitization and 71% food sensitization. Food impaction and dysphagia were the most frequent symptoms, and severe clinical disease was observed in 55%. Histologically, 37% had severity criteria. Patients with severe clinical disease had a significantly longer mean disease duration before diagnosis than patients without severe clinical disease (79 vs 15 months, p = 0.021). Patients who described food impaction were significantly older at time of diagnosis than those who have never had impaction (18 vs 9 years, p less than 0.001). There was no significant association (p less than 0.05) between sensitization, serum total IgE and peripheral blood eosinophil values and clinical or histological severity. Conclusions. An older age at diagnosis and a longer disease duration before diagnosis appear to be useful for predicting EoE clinical severity. Despite having been demonstrated a high prevalence of allergic disease, the presence of sensitization to airborne and/or food allergens do not seem to be useful for predicting clinical or histological severity.

Telotristat Etiprate alleviates rheumatoid arthritis by targeting LGALS3 and affecting MAPK signaling.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the most widespread chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases characterized by continuous erosion of bone and cartilage by synovial hyperplasia. Telotristat Etiprate is an inhibitor of tryptophan hydroxylase, a rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of serotonin. Telotristat Etiprate can be used in the treatment of carcinoid syndrome. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of Telotristat Etiprate on RA and its mechanism. We investigated Telotristat Etiprate in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model mice and in rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts (RASFs). Results showed that Telotristat Etiprate had anti-inflammatory effects both in vitro and in vivo, can inhibit the invasion and migration of cells, inhibit the formation of pannus, and induce cell apoptosis. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) and mass spectrometry analysis showed that Galectins-3 (LGALS3) could be a newly identified target of Telotristat Etiprate, affecting the phosphorylation of the MAPK signaling pathway through UBE2L6, thereby improving RA.

The imbalance of liver resident macrophages polarization promotes chronic autoimmune hepatitis development in mice.

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory liver disease. At present, it is largely unknown how the innate immune cells influence AIH development. To inquiry about mechanism of liver resident macrophages in AIH development, thus offering a new direction for AIH targeted treatment. The liver resident macrophages were eliminated by clodronate liposomes in AIH liver tissues, followed by HE and Picrosirius assay to detect liver fibrosis and lymphocyte infiltration. The liver resident macrophages polarization was detected by Immunohistochemistry and qPCR. The collagenase digestion was used to isolate Kupffer cells from AIH mice liver tissues and pro-/anti-inflammatory cytokines were determined by qPCR. M2 macrophages were the dominant phenotype at early immune response stage and hepatic inflammation was progressively aggravated after depletion of liver resident macrophages. M2 macrophages could effectively delay the development of AIH and could be polarized to M1 macrophages at the disease progresses. TLR2 ligands could promote M2 macrophages producing anti-inflammatory cytokines, whereas TLR4 ligands could promote M1 macrophages producing proinflammatory cytokines. The change of TLR2 and TLR4 ligands could lead to continuous high expression of TLR4 and decreased expression of TLR2 in macrophages to further affect liver resident macrophages polarization state. TLR2 and TLR4 ligands mediated liver resident macrophages polarization to favor chronic autoimmune hepatitis development.

Natural Plant Extract - Loganin: A Hypothesis for Psoriasis Treatment Through Inhibiting Oxidative Stress and Equilibrating Immunity via Regulation of Macrophage Polarization.

Psoriasis, a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease, influences approximately 2-3% of the world's population. At present, the etiology of psoriasis remains unclear and there is still no causal treatment available. Recent studies indicate that oxidative stress (OS) and T cells dysregulation may participate in the pathogenesis of psoriasis, among which M1-dominant macrophage polarization is a crucial contributor. Macrophages mainly polarize into two different subsets, ie, classically activated macrophage (M1) and alternatively activated macrophage (M2). M1 polarization tends to exacerbate psoriasis via producing substantial reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammatory mediators, to encourage OS invasion and T cells dysregulation. Thus, targeting M1 polarization can be a possible therapeutic alternative for psoriasis. Loganin, belonging to iridoid glycosides, is a pharmaceutically active ingredient originated from Cornus officinalis, exerting multiple biological activities, eg, immunomodulation, antioxidation, anti-inflammation, etc. More importantly, it could effectively suppress M1 polarization, thereby arresting OS aggression and T cells' dysregulation. Numerous studies have confirmed that loganin is quite reliable for diseases treatment via suppressing M1 polarization. Nevertheless, reports about loganin treating psoriasis have seldom appeared so far. Accordingly, we hold a hypothesis that loganin would availably manage psoriasis through preventing M1 polarization. Data from previous studies guarantee the potential of loganin in control of psoriasis.

DOP13 Plasma metabolite fingerprint could discriminate inflammatory bowel disease patients from healthy subjects

Abstract Background Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD, Crohn’s disease [CD], ulcerative colitis [UC]) are chronic immune-mediated systemic diseases with unknown aetiology. In the past few years, experimental studies revealed associations of human serum and plasma metabolites’ with IBD with a possible discriminative power between IBD and healthy subjects. Our study focused on the utility of plasma metabolome profiling as a diagnostic marker in patients with different phenotypes. Methods IBD patients were enrolled in a double-centre prospective cohort study. Large number of healthy subjects were included to reduce methodological bias. Blood samples were obtained at baseline and stored at –20°C and plasma metabolites were measured by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Logistic regression, minimum redundancy maximal relevance (mRMR), principal component analysis (PCA), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were used to calculate discriminative power. Results Plasma metabolome profile of 26 IBD (13 UC and 12 CD) patients and 168 HC participants were analyzed, and 388 metabolites were measured. 33 and 58% of CD patients and 31 and 39% of UC patients had clinical and endoscopic activity based on clinical (mean pMayo: 2.8±3.4, CDAI: 56±62) and endoscopic (mean PanMayo: 7.4±13.3 and SES-CD: 7.3±8.2) indices. Low plasma level of cysteine (CV=-0.36; p&amp;lt;0.01), triglycerides (CV=-0.19; p&amp;lt;0.01) and hexosylceramide (HexCer(d18:1/23:0); CV=-0.18; p&amp;lt;0.01), while high level of arginine (CV=0.3; p&amp;lt;0.24), hexosylceramide (HexCer(d18:2/23:0); CV=0.2; p=0.02), glutamate (CV=0.19; p&amp;lt;0.01) and lactate (CV=0.16; p=0.01) were significantly associated with IBD. According to mRMR analysis, cysteine (p&amp;lt;0.001), triglyceride (p&amp;lt;0.01), and HexCer(d16:1/22:0); (p&amp;lt;0.001) ranked highest in terms of feature importance (discriminative power). Based on the 16 metabolites considered to be of the highest discriminative power, the healthy and the IBD groups were well separated (PC1=18.2%, PC2=14.7%; Figure 1.). Conclusion Based on our results, plasma metabolite levels may help to discriminate IBD and healthy subjects. Integrative analysis of different biological samples may potentially predict IBD and could promote achieving personalized medicine. Further sample collections and analysis within this study can reveal discriminative metabolite fingerprints among IBD subtypes and correlations with activity as well.