Serum adipokines in inflammatory bowel disease

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Gastroenterology
• Immunology

Background:

• Adipokines are signaling proteins secreted by adipose tissue with roles in metabolism and inflammation.
• Alterations in adipokine profiles are implicated in various inflammatory and metabolic conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate serum adipokine levels in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) before and after treatment.
• To compare adipokine profiles between Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) patients and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Serum concentrations of six adipokines (tissue growth factor-β1, adiponectin, leptin, chemerin, resistin, and visfatin) were measured using ELISA in 40 IBD patients (24 CD, 16 UC) and 16 healthy controls.
• IBD patients were assessed before and after three months of therapy with corticosteroids and/or azathioprine.
• Clinical diagnoses were confirmed via endoscopy, imaging, and histology.

Main Results:

• Baseline leptin levels were lower in IBD patients compared to controls and increased post-treatment in CD patients.
• Resistin and visfatin levels were elevated at baseline in both CD and UC patients compared to controls.
• Treatment decreased resistin in UC and visfatin in CD patients; adiponectin, chemerin, and TGF-β1 levels remained unchanged. IBD activity indices did not correlate with adipokine levels.

Conclusions:

• Inflammatory bowel disease significantly modulates serum adipokine profiles.
• IBD is associated with increased resistin and visfatin and decreased leptin levels.
• Therapy partially reversed some of these adipokine alterations, suggesting a role for adipokines in IBD pathogenesis and treatment response.