title: Inflammatory bowel disease is associated with increased mucosal levels of bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Clinical sepsis seldom accompanies inflammatory bowel disease. The aim of this study was to measure colonic mucosal levels of the neutrophil product bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI), which kills gram-negative bacteria in addition to inactivating endotoxin.
  
  
  METHODS
  Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry for BPI were performed on homogenates and tissue secretions of biopsy specimens from patients with ulcerative colitis (n=11) and Crohn's disease (n=5) and from normal controls (n=5).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mucosal neutrophil content (144 +/- 23 vs. 35 +/- 9 neutrophils/mg protein; P<0.007) and BPI content (2.07 +/- 0.75 vs. 0.12 +/- 0.02 ng/mg protein; P<0.002) were greater in the colitis groups and correlated closely (r=0.68; P<0.001). This relationship held for both ulcerative colitis (P<0.002) and Crohn's disease (P<0.01) with a trend towards greater levels in Crohn's disease. There was a trend towards higher BPI levels with an increasing endoscopic inflammation score (grade I, 1.32 +/- 0.6 ng/mg protein; grade II, 2.82 +/- 1.4 ng/mg protein). Immunohistochemistry and the biopsy culture showed BPI to be both intracellular and extracellular, to be present in the crypt lumen, and to be released into incubating medium.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mucosal levels of BPI are increased in colitis. Such localization may ameliorate mucosal responses to gram-negative bacteria and their products.
authors.affiliation: Department of Haemostasis, Inflammtion, Atherosclerosis, and Thrombosis, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Monajemi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meenan
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lamping
authors.forename: D O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Obradov
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Radema
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Trown
authors.forename: G N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Tytgat
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Van Deventer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D001706:Biopsy; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000378:metabolism; D003106:Colon / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000378:metabolism; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D001798:Blood Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C021623:bactericidal permeability increasing protein