GALECTINS AS BIOMARKERS OF INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE

PAPA GOBBI R; DE FRANCESCO PN; MUGLIA C; RUMBO M; ROCCA A; SAMBUELLI A; TOSCANO MA; RABINOVICH G; DOCENA G

Mar del Plata

Congreso; Reunión anual de la sociedad argentina de inmunología; 2014

Galectins (Gal) are a family of mammalian lectins with affinity for β-galactoside-containing glycans. Although they have been implicated in a wide range of biological activities, their roles in intestinal inflammatory disorders are poorly understood. Seeking for potential biomarkers that could delineate different IBD entities, here we analyzed the gene expression profile of four relevant galectins in intestinal biopsies of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and controls. Colonic biopsies were obtained by endoscopy from 57 IBD patients (20 Crohn?s disease-CD patients, 37 ulcerative colitis-UC patients), 5 patients with acute cellular rejection after intestinal transplantation, and 22 non-IBD controls. mRNA was isolated and RT-PCR/qPCR were carried out using specific primers for Gal-1, Gal-3, Gal-4, Gal-9 and β-actin. Linear discriminate analysis (LDA) was used to compare the expression of these lectins in different patients and mucosal settings. We found a differential expression of galectins in inflamed tissue compared to uninflamed IBD or control patients. Gal-1 was markedly raised in fulminant IBD (p< 0,01), whereas Gal-3, Gal-4 and Gal-9 were down-regulated (p