title: Short-Term Surveillance of Cytokines and C-Reactive Protein Cannot Predict Efficacy of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Ulcerative Colitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There were no reports on predicting long-term efficacy of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for ulcerative colitis (UC). This study aimed to detect short-term changes of cytokines and C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with UC undergoing FMT, and to evaluate the predictive value of CRP and cytokines for the long-term efficacy of FMT.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nineteen patients with moderate to severe UC (Mayo score ≥ 6) were treated with single fresh FMT through mid-gut. Serum samples were collected before and three days post-FMT. Clinical responses were evaluated by a minimum follow-up of three months. Patients with clinical improvement and remission at the assessment point of three-month were included as response group, while patients without clinical improvement or remission were included as non-response group. Serum concentrations of cytokines (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-11, IL-17A, IFN-γ, TNF, TNFR-1, TNFR-2, MCP-1, G-CSF, GM-CSF) and CRP were assayed to predict the clinical response of FMT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 10.5% (2/19) of patients achieved clinical remission and 47.4% (9/19) achieved clinical improvement (Response group, including clinical remission and clinical improvement), 42.1% (8/19) failed to benefit from FMT (Non-response group). In both Response group and Non-response group, the level of CRP at three days after FMT didn't show significant decrease compared with that before FMT (p>0.05). However, in Response group, CRP level at three months after FMT decreased significantly than that before FMT (p<0.05). Compared with healthy controls (n = 9), patients with UC showed a higher baseline level of serum IL-6, TNFR-2 and G-CSF, and a lower level of IL-2 and IL-4 (p<0.05). In both Response group and Non-response group, none of the eleven detectable cytokines showed a significant difference between the value at three days after FMT and that before FMT (p>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with moderate to severe UC presented a complex disorder of cytokines. However, the efficacy of FMT for UC might not be predicted by the short-term surveillance of cytokines and CRP.
authors.affiliation: Medical Center for Digestive Diseases, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.|Key Lab of Holistic Integrative Enterology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Medical Center for Digestive Diseases, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.|Key Lab of Holistic Integrative Enterology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Bota
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Medical Center for Digestive Diseases, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.|Key Lab of Holistic Integrative Enterology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Pan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Medical Center for Digestive Diseases, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.|Key Lab of Holistic Integrative Enterology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Medical Center for Digestive Diseases, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.|Key Lab of Holistic Integrative Enterology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Chuyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: Medical Center for Digestive Diseases, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.|Key Lab of Holistic Integrative Enterology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Medical Center for Digestive Diseases, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.|Key Lab of Holistic Integrative Enterology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Zhaoyuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Medical Center for Digestive Diseases, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.|Key Lab of Holistic Integrative Enterology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Guozhong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Medical Center for Digestive Diseases, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.|Key Lab of Holistic Integrative Enterology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Faming
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D000069467:Fecal Microbiota Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D016207:Cytokines; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D002097:C-Reactive Protein