S100B as a new fecal biomarker of inflammatory bowel diseases

R. Di Liddo, M. Piccione, S. Schrenk, C. Dal Magro, C. Cosma, A. Padoan, N. Contran, M.L. Scapellato, A. Pagetta, V. Romano Spica, M.T. Conconi, P.P. Parnigotto, R. D’Incà, F. Michetti

Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padua, Italy. rosa.diliddo@unipd.it

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• Gastroenterology

OBJECTIVE: S100 proteins are demonstrated to exert a protective role in the gastrointestinal tract. In the present study, we investigated whether S100B protein, that is typically expressed by enteroglial cells, is detectable in feces and could be a useful noninvasive indicator of gut chronic inflammation.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: This clinical prospective study included n=48 patients suffering Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) and non IBD-controls. The clinical disease activity was evaluated using Harvey-Bradshaw or Mayo Score Index while the diagnosis of IBD was defined based on standard endoscopic and histological criteria. S100B and calprotectin were extracted and analyzed using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits.

RESULTS: Unlike calprotectin, S100B was significantly decreased in both CD and UC compared to non IBD-patients. The strongest quantitative alterations of S100B were detected concomitantly with signs of active or quiescent disease, including high/normal expression of fecal calprotectin, mucosal damage/cryptitis, mucin depletion and inflammatory infiltrate, as defined by endoscopic evaluation and histological analysis. At the onset of disease and under no Infliximab-based therapy, the lowest was detected suggesting that S100B in feces could have a potential diagnostic value for IBD.

CONCLUSIONS: Testing for S100B and calprotectin could be a useful screening tool to better predict IBD activity.

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