Antibodies to Saccharomyces cerevisiae in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Its Correlation with Intestinal Permeability

Kim, Joo Sung; Jung, Hyun Chae; Song, In Sung; Kim, Chung Yong; Kim, You Sun; Lee, Jin Hyuk

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The antibody to oligomannosidic epitopes of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ASCA) has been reported as a new serologic marker associated with Crohn's disease. We performed this study to assess the prevalence of ASCA in diverse colitis. We also investigated the relationship between ASCA and intestinal permeability in patients with Crohn's disease.
METHODS
Sera were obtained from 54 patients with Crohn's disease and 21 their healthy first-degree relatives, 26 healthy controls. The sera of the patients with ulcerative colitis (24), Behcef's colitis (26), and intestinal tuberculosis (3) were also obtained. ASCA was measured by ELISA method. Intestinal permeability was measured by enzymatic method using lactulose and mannitol.
RESULTS
ASCA was detected in 36 of 54 (66%) patients with Crohn's disease, 12 of 26 (46%) patients with Behcet's colitis, 6 of 24 (25%) patients with ulcerative colitis, 9 of 21 (43%) healthy relatives. ASCA was not detected in patients with intestinal tuberculosis (0/3). Disease activity, location and previous operation did not affect ASCA in Crohn's disease. The significant correlation was not found between ASCA and intestinal permeability in patients with Crohn's disease (r=-0.317, p=0.14).
CONCLUSION
The presence of ASCA is characteristic but not specific to Crohn's disease, because Behcet's colitis also showed relatively high positivity of ASCA. Moreover, the presence of ASCA may not be resulted from increased intestinal permeability. Further studies are needed to clarify the clinical implication of ASCA.