Serum level of lactadherin (MFGE8) in inflamatory bowel disease

Evaluation of serum lactadherin level, its correlation with disease activity and certain biochemical parameters in IBD patients. The study involved adult IBD patients, comprising 50 with ulcerative colitis (UC), 68 with Crohn's disease (CD), and 29 healthy controls. The MFGE8 median concentration was significantly higher in UC versus controls (1914.54 vs. 1392.21; p = 0.017), but not in CD. The median MFGE8 levels in UC and CD patient groups didn't significantly differ. There was a significant inverse correlation between MFGE8 and CRP (r = -0.283; p = 0.044) and fibrinogen (r = -0.362, p = 0.017) in UC. In active UC, MFGE8 median concentration was higher versus controls (1974.36 vs. 1392.21; p = 0.04) and negatively correlated with CRP (r = -0.482; p = 0.005), WBC (r = -0.391; p = 0.027), and fibrinogen (r = -0.473; p = 0.015). Inactive UC showed negative correlation only with fibrinogen (r = -0.567; p = 0.018). No correlations were found with disease activity measured using appropriate scales, age, BMI, or gender. Active UC patients show higher MFGE8 levels. These increase inversely with inflammatory markers (CRP, WBC, fibrinogen) in active UC, but not in CD.