Diagnostic values of CD27, CD20 and MPO in pediatric ulcerative colitis

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC), is a chronic inflammatory disorder with a rising incidence in pediatric populations. Immune factors play important roles in the pathogenesis of UC. This study aimed to explore the relationships of intestinal immune molecules CD27, CD20 and myeloperoxidase (MPO) with pediatric UC and their diagnostic values. In this study, gene expression data of 206 new-onset UC children and 20 non-IBD controls obtained from the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus public database and immunohistochemistry analysis were used to evaluate CD27, CD20 and MPO expression in diseased intestinal tissues of UC children. And the diagnostic potentials of them for UC were analyzed using receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve (AUC). We found that CD27, CD20 and MPO mRNA and protein expressions were increased in the diseased intestinal tissues of UC children. CD27, CD20 and MPO showed good diagnostic potential for UC in children, with an AUC of 0.95 for CD27, 0.79 for CD20 and 0.92 for MPO, and combination of them had better diagnostic performance with an AUC of 0.98. Besides, they were associated with immune-related biological processes and pathways, and correlated with genes related to immune factors, intestinal epithelial barrier function, and intestinal fibrosis. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that CD27, CD20 and MPO were increased in diseased intestinal tissues of UC children, and had good diagnostic performance for UC in children.