title: Inflammatory gene expression profiles in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis: a comparative analysis using a reverse transcriptase multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification protocol.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cytokines and their receptors play a critical role in the pathogenesis of the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of this study was to investigate the expression profiles of inflammatory genes in inflamed and non-inflamed colonic tissue samples in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), and to identify molecular signatures for different IBD phenotypes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-one patients diagnosed with IBD (38 CD, 33 UC) and 15 non-IBD controls have been included in the study. For each patient, biopsy samples were obtained during colonoscopy from inflamed (L) and healthy (N) mucosa. We investigated by commercially available reverse-transcriptase multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (RT-MLPA) kit the mRNA expression of a set of 40 genes involved in inflammation: cytokines, chemokines, receptors, signal transduction molecules and transcription factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In L biopsies from patients with CD, higher expression levels were found for IL-4 (p=0.009) and IL-12p35 (p=0.0005), whereas in L biopsy samples from patients with UC higher expression levels were found for IL-8 (p=0.03), chemokines SCYA3 (p=0.05), SCYA4 (p=0.01) and glutathione S-transferase P1 (p=0.01). In N biopsies of patients with CD higher expression levels were found for IL-1R (p=0.01) and IL-12p35 (p=0.007), whereas in N biopsies of patients with UC higher expression levels were found for IL-15 (p=0.009) and SCYA8 (p=0.001). The logistic regression analysis has indicated that low expression levels of IL-2 and IL-10, together with higher ASCA IgG titers were independently associated with penetrating/stricturing CD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RT-MLPA is a sensitive and effective method for the evaluation of the profiles of inflammatory genes in IBD, with potential future applications for diagnosis, phenotypic stratification and targeted therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Carol Davila, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Serban
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gologan
authors.forename: Razvan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Iacob
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Iancu
authors.forename: Speranta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iacob
authors.forename: Bogdan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cotruta
authors.forename: Roxana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vadan
authors.forename: Ana-Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Catuneanu
authors.forename: Ileana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Constantinescu
authors.forename: Ligia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barbarii
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gheorghe
authors.forename: Mircea
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Diculescu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018925:Chemokines / Q000235:genetics; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000235:genetics*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D060885:Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction; D010641:Phenotype; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D018925:Chemokines; D016207:Cytokines; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014157:Transcription Factors