Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Gut logoLink to Gut
. 1978 Mar;19(3):233–239. doi: 10.1136/gut.19.3.233

Serum and faecal lysozyme in inflammatory bowel disease.

H J Klass, G Neale
PMCID: PMC1411900  PMID: 631644

Abstract

Lysozyme (EC 3.2.1.17) concentrations were measured in the serum and stools of patients with inflammatory bowel disease and compared with the concentrations in similar material from normal controls, patints with non-inflammatory gastrointestinal disease, and patients without gastrointestinal disease. By the turbidometric method, values of lysozyme (microgram/ml +/- SD) are considerably greater in the serum of patients with active Crohn's disease (9.2 +/- 2.7) than in the serum of healthy controls (4.4 +/- 2.0). They do not, however, distinguish individual patients with Crohn's disease from those with ulcerative colitis nor from those with a variety of other gastrointestinal conditions. The lysoplate method gives much higher values for serum lysozyme than the turbidometric method but there is a considerable overlap between the results for patients with Crohn's disease (60.1 +/- 30.7) and normal controls (27.4 +/- 17.5). There is only a moderate correlation between the results given by the two methods (r = 0.56) and it is suggested that factors other than enzyme activity and methodological variation are responsible for the observed differences. This is supported by the finding that, with Crohn's disease in remission, serum lysozyme values (lysoplate) return to normal values but with the turbidometric method remain raised. Mean faecal lysozyme levels, expressed either as a concentration or as total daily excretion, in patients with inflammatory bowel disease are very significantly greater than values in healthy controls and in diseased subjects without diarrhoea but are not significantly different from those subjects with other causes of diarrhoea.

Full text

PDF
233

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. ANTHONISEN P., RIIS P. The cytology of colonic secretion in proctosigmoidal disease. Acta Med Scand. 1962 Sep;172:375–381. doi: 10.1111/j.0954-6820.1962.tb07168.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. De Dombal F. T., Burton I. L., Clamp S. E., Goligher J. C. Short-term course and prognosis of Crohn's disease. Gut. 1974 Jun;15(6):435–443. doi: 10.1136/gut.15.6.435. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Dronfield M. W., Langman M. J. Serum lysozyme in inflammatory bowel disease. Gut. 1975 Dec;16(12):985–987. doi: 10.1136/gut.16.12.985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Falchuk K. R., Perrotto J. L., Isselbacher K. J. Serum lysozyme in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. N Engl J Med. 1975 Feb 20;292(8):395–397. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197502202920805. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Falchuk K. R., Perrotto J. L., Isselbacher K. J. Serum lysozyme in Crohn's disease. A useful index of disease activity. Gastroenterology. 1975 Oct;69(4):893–896. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fink M. E., Finch S. C. Serum muramidase and granulocyte turnover. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1968 Feb;127(2):365–367. doi: 10.3181/00379727-127-32692. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. GRAY S. J., REIFENSTEIN R. W., CONNOLLY E. P., SPIRO H. M., YOUNG J. C. G. Studies of lysozyme in ulcerative colitis. Gastroenterology. 1950 Dec;16(4):687–696. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Glotzer D. J., Gardner R. C., Goldman H., Hinrichs H. R., Rosen H., Zetzel L. Comparative features and course of ulcerative and granulomatous colitis. N Engl J Med. 1970 Mar 12;282(11):582–587. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197003122821102. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Gordon S., Todd J., Cohn Z. A. In vitro synthesis and secretion of lysozyme by mononuclear phagocytes. J Exp Med. 1974 May 1;139(5):1228–1248. doi: 10.1084/jem.139.5.1228. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hylander E., Hansen N. E., Karle H., Janrum S. Serum lysozyme in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Scand J Gastroenterol. 1976;11(2):213–217. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kane S. P., Hoffbrand A. V., Neale G. Indices of granulocyte activity in inflammatory bowel disease. Gut. 1974 Dec;15(12):953–959. doi: 10.1136/gut.15.12.953. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Klockars M., Reitamo S., Reitamo J. J., Möller C. Immunohistochemical identification of lysozyme in intestinal lesions in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Gut. 1977 May;18(5):377–381. doi: 10.1136/gut.18.5.377. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Lennard-Jones J. E., Lockhart-Mummery H. E., Morson B. C. Clinical and pathological differentiation of Crohn's disease and proctocolitis. Gastroenterology. 1968 Jun;54(6):1162–1170. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Levine M. L., Engle R. L., Jr The granulocytic response in nonspecific ulcerative colitis. Am J Dig Dis. 1969 Feb;14(2):69–79. doi: 10.1007/BF02232828. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Lewin K. The Paneth cell in disease. Gut. 1969 Oct;10(10):804–811. doi: 10.1136/gut.10.10.804. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Mason D. Y., Taylor C. R. The distribution of muramidase (lysozyme) in human tissues. J Clin Pathol. 1975 Feb;28(2):124–132. doi: 10.1136/jcp.28.2.124. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. McClelland D. B., Shearman D. J., Lai A Fat R. F., van Furth R. In vitro synthesis of immunoglobulins, secretory component, complement and lysozyme by human gastrointestinal tissues. II. Pathological tissues. Clin Exp Immunol. 1976 Jan;23(1):20–27. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. McClelland D. B., van Furth R. In vitro synthesis of lysozyme by human and mouse tissues and leucocytes. Immunology. 1975 Jun;28(6):1099–1114. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Osserman E. F., Lawlor D. P. Serum and urinary lysozyme (muramidase) in monocytic and monomyelocytic leukemia. J Exp Med. 1966 Nov 1;124(5):921–952. doi: 10.1084/jem.124.5.921. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. PRUDDEN J. F., LANE N., LEVISON J. Lysozyme titres in regional enteritis, miscellaneous tissues, microorganisms, and excreta. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1949 Oct;72(1):220–222. doi: 10.3181/00379727-72-17386. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Peeters T. L., Vantrappen G. R. Factors influencing lysozyme determinations by the lysoplate method. Clin Chim Acta. 1977 Feb 1;74(3):217–225. doi: 10.1016/0009-8981(77)90288-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Peeters T. L., Vantrappen G., Geboes K. Serum lysozyme levels in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Gut. 1976 Apr;17(4):300–305. doi: 10.1136/gut.17.4.300. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Peeters T., Vantrappen G. The Paneth cell: a source of intestinal lysozyme. Gut. 1975 Jul;16(7):553–558. doi: 10.1136/gut.16.7.553. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Pounder R. E., Avella J. R., McCallum H., Misiewicz J. J. Letter: Serum lysozyme in inflammatory bowel disease. Lancet. 1975 Aug 2;2(7927):228–229. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(75)90696-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Pruzanski W., Marcon N. Letter: Lysozyme in Crohn's disease. N Engl J Med. 1975 Sep 18;293(12):611–612. doi: 10.1056/nejm197509182931219. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Riis P., Anthonisen P. The presence of inflammatory leucocytes in the rectal mucus of patients with regional ileitis. Scand J Gastroenterol. 1971;6(8):719–721. doi: 10.3109/00365527109179942. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Gut are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES