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Clinical Significance of Serum Elafin in Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Paulina Krawiec1, Elżbieta Pac-Kożuchowska1
1Department of Pediatrics and Gastroenterology, Medical University of Lublin, Al. Racławickie 1, 20-059 Lublin, Poland.
Insights
Serum elafin levels are elevated in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), particularly during active disease phases. This suggests elafin may serve as a potential biomarker for IBD activity, especially in ulcerative colitis.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Biochemistry
- Inflammatory Diseases
Background:
- The role of elafin in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) pathophysiology remains unclear.
- Investigating serum elafin levels in children with IBD is crucial for understanding its involvement in disease mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate serum elafin levels in children diagnosed with IBD.
- To assess the correlation between serum elafin concentrations and IBD disease activity.
Main Methods:
- Children with IBD were recruited as the study group.
- Children with functional abdominal pain served as the control group.
- Serum elafin was quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits.
Main Results:
- Serum elafin was significantly elevated in children with IBD compared to controls (p = 0.0005).
- Elafin levels were higher in active IBD phases (p = 0.0003) and in ulcerative colitis remission (p = 0.004).
- ROC analysis indicated elafin's potential as a biomarker for ulcerative colitis (AUC = 0.809).
Conclusions:
- Serum elafin is elevated in pediatric IBD patients, correlating with disease activity.
- Elafin shows promise as a potential biomarker for ulcerative colitis, especially in active phases and remission.
Background:
The role of elafin in the pathophysiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has not been not elucidated. We aimed to evaluate serum elafin in children with IBD and assess its relationship with disease activity.
Methods:
We enrolled children with IBD in the study group and children with functional abdominal pain in the control group. We evaluated serum elafin using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits.
Results:
In children with IBD, serum elafin (mean ± SD: 4.192 ± 1.424 ng/mL) was significantly elevated compared with controls (mean ± SD: 3.029 ± 1.366 ng/mL) (p = 0.0005). Elafin was significantly increased in children in the active phase of IBD (mean ± SD: 4.424 ± 1.449 ng/mL) compared with the control group (p = 0.0003). In IBD remission, only children with ulcerative colitis (mean ± SD: 4.054 ± 1.536 ng/mL) had elevated elafin compared with controls (p = 0.004). ROC analysis revealed that the area under the curve (AUC) of serum elafin was 0.809 while discriminating patients with ulcerative colitis from the control group, and the AUC was 0.664 while differentiating patients with Crohn's disease from the control group.
Conclusions:
Serum elafin was found to be elevated in our cohort of children with IBD, depending on disease activity. Serum elafin was increased in the active phases of both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, but only in the remission of ulcerative colitis. Elafin appears to be a potential candidate for a biomarker of ulcerative colitis.
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