Serum levels of high sensitive C-reactive protein and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in different subtypes of irritable bowel syndrome and their correlation

Abstract

BACKGROUND Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder, and the pathogenetic mechanism is still not clear at present. Recent studies have shown that low-grade inflammation plays important roles in the occurrence and progression of IBS. However, the exact inflammatory markers of IBS and the relationship between the nonspecific inflammatory marker hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and the diagnosis and classification of IBS are not clear. AIM To investigate the serum levels of hs-CRP, a non-specific inflammatory marker, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in different subtypes of IBS and their correlation under Rome Ⅳ criteria. METHODS One hundred and seventy-seven IBS patients who were treated at the Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University and Subei People's Hospital and 174 normal controls who received physical examinations at the same hospitals from January 2017 to January 2019 were selected as subjects in this study. The levels of hs-CRP and TNF-α in serum of the subjects were detected by transmittance turbidity method and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. RESULTS The serum levels of TNF-α and hs-CRP in IBS patients were significantly higher than those in healthy controls (P < 0.001). Among five different IBS subtypes, the levels of TNF-α and hs-CRP in the postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS) and diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) groups were significantly higher than those in the other three subtypes (P < 0.001). Hs-CRP levels were positively correlated with the levels of TNF-α in the IBS-D (P < 0.001) and PI-IBS groups (P < 0.05), and the correlation coefficients were 0.814 and 0.432, respectively. CONCLUSION Hs-CRP may be used as a potential inflammatory marker for the diagnosis and treatment of IBS-D and PI-IBS.