Soluble P-selectin glycoprotein ligand - a possible new target in ulcerative colitis

The main characteristic of active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is the neutrophil infiltration into the intestinal lamina propria, where neutrophils usually do not reside. Selectins are cell surface glycoproteins responsible for binding the leukocytes to vascular cells and their extravasation into the surrounding tissue. They show high affinity to P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) receptors. PSGL-1 is expressed on the surface of all leukocytes and they mediate the rolling of neutrophils on P-selectin. Soluble PSGL-1 acts competitively with cellular PSGL in many physiological and pathological processes.The aim of our study was to compare serum sPSGL-1 concentration in the blood of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and healthy control subjects.

Serum concentrations of sPSGL-1 were measured in 20 patients with UC and 20 control subjects. Two-layer immunoenzyme procedure (ELISA) was used.

The mean (± standard deviation) serum concentrations of sPSGL-1 in patients with UC and controls were 349.97±75.40 U/mL and 284.39±52.40 U/mL, respectively (p=0.003).

In the present study, we showed that patients with UC had significantly higher sPSGL-1 blood values in comparison with healthy subjects. A short-term blockade with anti-PSGL-1 antibodies could block the transport of neutrophils and decrease UC activity. Thus it could possibly be employed in a new therapeutic approach to the treatment of UC (Fig. 1, Ref. 25).