title: Immunoreactivity against Goblet cells in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A number of autoantibodies have been reported in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent sera from patients with IBD contain autoantibodies directed against normal human gastrointestinal mucosa.
  
  
  METHODS
  Samples of sera from 50 patients with IBD and 50 healthy subjects were used for immunostaining of normal and affected human gastrointestinal tissues.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighty-four percent of the sera from IBD patients showed immunoreactivity against goblet cells in the appendix compared with 8% of the sera from healthy subjects. Goblet cell reactivity of IBD patient sera varied between regions in the gastrointestinal tract. Sera from healthy subjects only reacted with goblet cells in the appendix. In the colon and the appendix, goblet cell reactivity of IBD sera was generally weak at the base of the crypts and gradually increased toward the lumen. Three IBD sera samples reacted with gastrin cells in the antrum. In colon biopsies from patients with ulcerative colitis, immunoreactivity against the remaining goblet cells showed an inverse correlation with inflammatory activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that immunoreactivity against goblet cells may be of central importance in the pathogenesis of IBD. Identification of goblet cell antigens could lead to a better understanding of IBD and provide a new diagnostic tool.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. brita.ardesjo@medsci.uu.se
authors.forename: Brita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ardesjö
authors.forename: Guida M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Portela-Gomes
authors.forename: Fredrik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rorsman
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gerdin
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lööf
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grimelius
authors.forename: Olle
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kämpe
authors.forename: Olov
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ekwall
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D001065:Appendix / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D001706:Biopsy; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003106:Colon / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004386:Duodenum / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal; D005260:Female; D020397:Goblet Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000276:immunology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008875:Middle Aged; D011706:Pyloric Antrum / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies