Chronic inflammation is the common feature of inflammatory bowel disease. Infiltration of leucocytes is mediated by definite adhesion molecules expressed on the surface of activated leucocytes, platelets and endothelial cells.
Aims: to investigate the clinical value of determining concentrations of sE-selectin and sL-selectin in children and youth with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Patients and methods: soluble adhesion molecules were studied in the serum of 31 patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and 27 with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 20 healthy controls aged 6-18. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis patients were divided according to Hyams and Truelove-Witts' indeces of disease activity. Serum levels of sE-selectin and sL-selectin were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit of Bender MedSystem.
Results: sE-selectin levels of the inflammatory bowel disease patients were higher then those of controls and sL-selectin levels of the IBD patients were lower than those of controls but without statistical significant differences. The sE-selectin levels of Crohn's disease patients with active disease were statistically significant higher then those with remission of the disease (29,17 + 25,65 ng/ml vs 50,74 + 20,00 ng/ml). There was no statistically significant difference in the levels of L-selectin between patients with active disease and those with remission. There were no statistically significant differences in the levels of sE-selectin and sL-selectin between patients with active ulcerative colitis disease and patients with remission.
Conclusion: determination of sE-selectin in children with Crohn's disease is of significance in estimation of inflammation activity.