title: Increased serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent angiogenic, vascular permeability-enhancing, and calcium-dependent enzyme-modulating cytokine with overexpression in various pathologic disorders, including granulomatous inflammation, tissue repair, delayed hypersensitivity reactions, rheumatoid arthritis, and tissue ischemia. The present study investigates the role of VEGF in chronic inflammatory bowel disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-one patients with Crohn's disease, 15 patients with ulcerative colitis, and 9 healthy volunteers were studied. VEGF serum levels were measured with a solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significantly increased VEGF serum levels were observed in both active Crohn's disease and active ulcerative colitis when compared with healthy controls. Patients with active Crohn's disease and active ulcerative colitis showed significantly higher VEGF serum levels than patients with quiescent disease. No difference was observed between inactive disease and healthy controls. In addition, strongly increased VEGF serum levels were found in patients with Crohn's disease with fistulas in the absence of clinical, endoscopic, histologic, and laboratory findings of disease activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Significantly increased VEGF serum levels were observed in patients with active Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, which suggests that VEGF has an important role in chronic inflammatory bowel disease. Its possible association with fistulas has yet to be determined.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Griga
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tromm
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spranger
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: May
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000097:blood*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000097:blood*; D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay; D008222:Lymphokines / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D042442:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors
chemical_list: D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors; D008222:Lymphokines; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D042442:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors