title: Small intestinal lactoferrin and calprotectin levels in different stages of necrotizing enterocolitis in a rat model.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a severe disease of mostly premature infants with high morbidity and mortality rates. There is no reliable biomarker for detecting newborns at risk for NEC development. We aimed to investigate small intestinal lactoferrin (LF) and calprotectin (CAL) levels as predictors and indicators of disease severity in an experimental newborn rat model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Newborn pups were randomly divided into two groups, NEC and control. The NEC group pups were decapitated on the second, third and fourth days of the experiment for an assessment of the different stages of NEC. In the study group, hypoxia-reoxygenation model used to induce NEC. As biochemical parameters, small intestinal LF and CAL levels were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique and intestinal injury scoring was evaluated as a pathologic parameter.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Small intestinal levels of both LF and CAL increased in the second and the third day groups, but began to decrease by the fourth day. The first, second and third day levels of LF and CAL were higher than controls. The intestinal injury scores of all NEC groups were significantly higher than the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Small intestinal lactoferrin and calprotectin were good markers for demonstrating NEC. However, instead of spot testing, monitoring the levels of these markers may be more informative.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Gulhane Military Medical Faculty, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey. Electronic address: dr.csaglam@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Celal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sağlam
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Gulhane Military Medical Faculty, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Vural
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kesik
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Gulhane Military Medical Faculty, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bahadır
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Çalışkan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Gulhane Military Medical Faculty, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Tuncer
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Çaycı
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Gulhane Military Medical Faculty, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ağıllı
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Gulhane Military Medical Faculty, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nuri
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yiğit
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Gulhane Military Medical Faculty, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Oguzhan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Babacan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Gulhane Military Medical Faculty, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nadir
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Korkmazer
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Gulhane Military Medical Faculty, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Erman
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Atas
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Gulhane Military Medical Faculty, Etlik, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gulgun
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D020345:Enterocolitis, Necrotizing / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D007781:Lactoferrin / Q000378:metabolism*; D039841:Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D039841:Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex; D007781:Lactoferrin
keywords: Calprotectin; Lactoferrin; Necrotizing enterocolitis; Small intestinal biomarkers