title: Total and caspase-cleaved cytokeratin 18 in chronic cholecystitis: a prospective study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cell death mode has been studied in cancer, autoimmune, and neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, apoptosis and necrosis are investigated for the first time in patients with chronic calculous cholecystitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty five (35) patients (27 women and 8 men, aged 55.65 +/- 13.48 years) with symptomatic chronic calculous cholecystitis underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The early specific apoptotic tendency (caspase-cleaved cytokeratin 18) was studied in these patients with M30 Apoptosense ELISA and the total cytokerarin 18 (both derived from apoptosis and necrosis) with M65 ELISA. The ratio M30/M65 (caspase-cleaved to total cytokeratin 18) was also computed. According to the histopathological examination, the patients were divided in two groups: group A included patients with chronic inactive cholecystitis (n = 10), and group B those with chronic active cholecystitis (n = 25).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The concentrations of caspase-cleaved cytokerarin 18 (CK18), and especially those of total CK18, were higher in bile samples than in serum samples. In group B, there were significant differences between serum and bile samples regarding both caspase-cleaved CK18 and total CK18. Cells staining positive for caspase-cleaved CK18 were present in the epithelial cells of the mucosa of the gallbladder.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CK18 is expressed in the gallbladder epithelial cells. The concentrations of both caspase-cleaved CK18 and total CK18 were higher in bile samples than in serum samples. The levels of total CK18, as well as caspase-cleaved CK18, do not seem to differ between active and inactive chronic cholecystitis.
authors.affiliation: 2nd Department of Surgery, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece. simop@med.duth.gr
authors.forename: Constantinos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Simopoulos
authors.forename: Alexandra K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Tsaroucha
authors.forename: Byron
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Asimakopoulos
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giatromanolaki
authors.forename: Paschalis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gavriilidis
authors.forename: Alexandros
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Polychronidis
authors.forename: Anastasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karayiannakis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017209:Apoptosis; D001646:Bile / Q000378:metabolism; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism*; D002764:Cholecystitis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005704:Gallbladder / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D053538:Keratin-18 / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009336:Necrosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D053538:Keratin-18; D020169:Caspases