Serum level of lactadherin (MFGE8) in inflamatory bowel disease.

Objective: Evaluation of serum lactadherin level, its correlation with disease activity and certain biochemical parameters in IBD patients.

Methods: The study involved adult IBD patients, comprising 50 with ulcerative colitis (UC), 68 with Crohn's disease (CD), and 29 healthy controls.

Results: The MFGE8 median concentration was significantly higher in UC versus controls (1914.54 vs. 1392.21; p = 0.017), but not in CD. The median MFGE8 levels in UC and CD patient groups didn't significantly differ. There was a significant inverse correlation between MFGE8 and CRP (r = -0.283; p = 0.044) and fibrinogen (r = -0.362, p = 0.017) in UC. In active UC, MFGE8 median concentration was higher versus controls (1974.36 vs. 1392.21; p = 0.04) and negatively correlated with CRP (r = -0.482; p = 0.005), WBC (r = -0.391; p = 0.027), and fibrinogen (r = -0.473; p = 0.015). Inactive UC showed negative correlation only with fibrinogen (r = -0.567; p = 0.018). No correlations were found with disease activity measured using appropriate scales, age, BMI, or gender.

Conclusions: Active UC patients show higher MFGE8 levels. These increase inversely with inflammatory markers (CRP, WBC, fibrinogen) in active UC, but not in CD.