Colonic fibronectin and E-cadherin in mild ulcerative colitis

Although fibronectin has an important role in wound repair, nearly no human studies to date have investigated its condition in ulcerative colitis (UC) histologically. E-cadherin plays a critical role in the repair of normal epithelial tissues. This study aims to find out the condition of these two molecules in UC.

The records of 22 UC patients during the period of 2004‒2009 were retrospectively analyzed. We also included 24 patients with sporadic colorectal cancer (SCC) and 24 patients with normal colonoscopic biopsies who served as the control group. Colonoscopic biopsies were stained with E-cadherin and fibronectin.

The E-cadherin loss was significantly more prominent in the SCC group, followed by the UC group and control group. The situation was reverse for fibronectin. We also observed that while the E-cadherin loss was still ongoing in all of the endoscopically inactive cases, the fibronectin staining resembled the staining pattern of normal individuals in ten out of thirteen UC patients.

We suggest that the decrease in E-cadherin, even in the inactive period, might be the cause of why UC is not just a compensatory change in repair of inflammation. The results of staining with fibronectin in UC patients were between normal individuals and SCC patients. Further studies are necessary to confirm our results (Tab. 2, Fig. 6, Ref. 15). Text in PDF www.elis.sk Keywords: ulcerative colitis, fibronectin, E-cadherin.