Moderate performance of serum S100A12, in distinguishing inflammatory bowel disease from irritable bowel syndrome.
BACKGROUND
S100A12, a calcium-binding proinflammatory protein secreted by granulocytes, has been associated with different diseases of inflammatory origin, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In this study, the utility of serum S100A12, in discriminating IBD from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), was tested.


METHODS
S100A12 serum levels were determined in 64 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), 64 with Crohn's disease (CD) and 73 with IBS, by means of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. S100A12 serum levels were evaluated with respect to the levels of known inflammatory markers and patients' characteristics.


RESULTS
The median values of serum S100A12 levels were 68.2 ng/mL (range: 43.4-147.4) in UC, 70 ng/mL (41.4-169.8) in CD and 43.4 ng/mL (34.4-74.4) in IBS patients. UC and CD patients had significantly higher serum S100A12 levels compared to IBS patients (P = 0.001 for both comparisons). Moreover, a cut-off for serum S100A12 levels of 54.4 ng/mL could predict both UC and CD with a 66.7% sensitivity and a 64.4% specificity. The area under curve was estimated at 0.67 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.60-0.75 (P < 0.001). Considering standard activity indices, higher serum S100A12 levels in active compared to inactive IBD were observed, although the recorded difference did not reach statistical significance. C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A (SAA) levels, showed a statistically significant positive correlation with S100A12 (r = 0.39, P = 0.001 and r = 0.23, P = 0.02 respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Increased levels of circulating S100A12 are found in IBD, compared to IBS. When used to distinguish IBD from IBS adult patients, serum S100A12 levels exhibit moderate performance. On the other hand, serum S100A12 may serve as an inflammatory marker in IBD, since it is well correlated with CRP and SAA.
Manolakis
Anastassios C
AC
Department of Gastroenterology, University of Thessaly, School of Medicine, Larissa 41110, Greece.
Kapsoritakis
Andreas N
AN
Georgoulias
Panagiotis
P
Tzavara
Chara
C
Valotassiou
Varvara
V
Kapsoritaki
Anastasia
A
Potamianos
Spyros P
SP
D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D000067616:S100A12 Protein; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D015415:Biomarkers; D009418:S100 Proteins; D000067616:S100A12 Protein; C090441:S100A12 protein, human