Antibodies Against Laminaribioside and Chitobioside Are Novel Serologic Markers in Crohn's Disease

Abstract

Background & Aims: New serologic markers of inflammatory bowel disease may be useful for differentiating between Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis and for disease stratification. We profiled sugar-binding antibodies to identify novel antiglycan antibodies that may be associated with inflammatory bowel disease. Methods: Serum samples were obtained from patients with diagnosed Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis and from control patients. The presence of antiglycan antibodies was evaluated using either a glycan array (GlycoChip; Glycominds, Ltd, Lod, Israel) in patients with Crohn's disease (n = 72) or ulcerative colitis (n = 56) and in healthy controls (n = 41) or using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in patients with Crohn's disease (n = 124), ulcerative colitis (n = 106), and in control patients (n = 101). Results: Inaddition to antibodies against mannan, antibodies to laminaribioside (Glc[β1,3]Glc[β]) and chitobioside (GlcNAc[β1,4]GlcNAc[β]) had the highest discriminative capability between Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (P < .001 and P < .0001, respectively). Conclusions: Antilaminaribioside and antichitobioside carbohydrate antibodies are novel serologic markers associated with Crohn's disease. These antibodies may contribute to the diagnosis and improved stratification of Crohn's disease. © 2006 American Gastroenterological Association Institute.