Serum adipokines as biomarkers for the therapeutic monitoring of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) treated with infliximab: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are idiopathic inflammations of the colon, which can often undergo remission with the use of specific anti-TNF antibodies such as the infliximab. Although that the therapeutic monitoring can provide valuable insight into the possible etiolog y of unfavorable outcomes and allow for an appropriate management strateg y for these patients, currently none technique or biomarker have proved ideal for the evaluation of therapeutic benefices of anti-TNF antibodies in IBDs. Aim: To summarise current knowledge on the role of serum adipokines as potential biomarkers for the therapeutic monitoring of patients with IBDs under infliximab. Methods: A systematic review was carried out in the PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Scopus and Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde databases. Next, the meta-analysis was performed with the mean values of serum adipokine levels in patients with IBDs before and after the use of infliximab using the Review Manager (RevMan) ® 5.3 software. Results: Three studies that together included 58 patients diagnosed with IBDs and treated with infliximab at 5 mg/kg were selected. According to the quantitative analysis, serum leptin levels were significantly increased after the use of infliximab (p-value=0.01; Heterogeneity: I2=61%), which is correlated with the clinical remission of the disease. In addition, the circulating adiponectin (p-value=0.006; Heterogeneity: I2=0%) and resistin (p-value=0.009; Heterogeneity: I2=93%) concentrations were both reduced after the clinical remission of IBD with the use of infliximab. Conclusion: Serum leptin levels are significantly increased, while circulating adiponectin and resistin is reduced among IBD patients after the use of infliximab.