title: Circulating soluble vascular adhesion protein 1 in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A dysregulated local immune defence with a constant influx of leucocytes provides a basis for continuous intestinal inflammation in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Since vascular adhesion protein 1 (VAP-1) is one of the adhesion molecules that mediates lymphocyte binding to endothelium, we investigated the levels of soluble VAP-1 (sVAP-1) in the sera of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients compared with healthy controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  sVAP-1 serum levels were measured in 161 IBD patients (90 ulcerative colitis, 71 Crohn's disease) and 93 controls using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). sVAP-1 levels were correlated with disease activity and localization. In 42 patients, sVAP-1 levels were measured in both the active and inactive phases of the disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  sVAP-1 serum levels were detected in all control and IBD subjects. Mean sVAP-1 levels were 365.5 +/- 153.5 ng/ml in ulcerative colitis patients, 336.4 +/- 172.8 ng/ml in Crohn's disease patients, and 344.7 +/- 150.4 ng/ml in healthy controls. The differences between the groups were not significant. No association between disease activity or disease localization and sVAP-1 was found.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  sVAP-1 serum concentrations are not significantly different in IBD and healthy control subjects. sVAP-1 serum levels are of no value in the assessment of disease activity or severity of inflammation in patients with IBD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Heraklion, PO Box 1352, 71110 Heraklion, Crete, Greece. ktjohn@her.forthnet.gr
authors.forename: Ioannis E
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Koutroubakis
authors.forename: Efthymia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Petinaki
authors.forename: Emmanouel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vardas
authors.forename: Philippos
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dimoulios
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roussomoustakaki
authors.forename: Antonios N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Maniatis
authors.forename: Elias A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Kouroumalis
mesh_terms: D006631:Amine Oxidase (Copper-Containing) / Q000097:blood*; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000097:blood*; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012995:Solubility
chemical_list: D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; C076668:AOC3 protein, human; D006631:Amine Oxidase (Copper-Containing)