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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, September 2003, p. 856-861, Vol. 10, No. 5
1071-412X/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.10.5.856-861.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Distinct Elevation of Levels of Anti-Caenorhabditis elegans Antibody in Sera of Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Nobuhide Oshitani,1* Fumihiko Hato,2 Seiichi Kitagawa,2 Kenji Watanabe,1 Yasuhiro Fujiwara,1 Kazuhide Higuchi,1 Takayuki Matsumoto,1 and Tetsuo Arakawa1

Department of Gastroenterology,1 Second Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka 545-8585 Japan2

Received 24 February 2003/ Returned for modification 11 June 2003/ Accepted 24 June 2003

Dysregulation of immune responses to intestinal exogenous antigens contributes to the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease, but the specific antigen responsible for the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease is unknown. We measured serum antibody titers against Caenorhabditis elegans antigens. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgG subclass anti-C. elegans antibodies in serum samples from 29 patients with ulcerative colitis, 30 patients with Crohn's disease, 7 patients with intestinal Behçet's disease, and 11 healthy controls were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum IgG and IgG2 antibody titers against C. elegans were significantly higher in patients with inflammatory bowel disease than in controls. Antibody levels were not affected by age, gender, disease activity, extent of disease, or small bowel involvement. The anti-C. elegans antibody titer was significantly lower in patients with Crohn's disease taking mesalazine or sulfasalazine than in patients not taking these drugs. The increased immune responses to C. elegans found in patients with inflammatory bowel disease reflect dysregulated immune responses to enteric antigens, which might play a role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Gastroenterology, Osaka City University Medical School, 1-4-3, Asahi-machi, Abeno-ku, Osaka 545-8585, Japan. Phone: 81-6-6645-3811. Fax: 81-6-6645-3813. E-mail: nobu{at}med.osaka-cu.ac.jp.

Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, September 2003, p. 856-861, Vol. 10, No. 5
1071-412X/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.10.5.856-861.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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