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. 1993;2(2):115–118. doi: 10.1155/S096293519300016X

Soluble interleukin-2 receptors in ulcerative colitis

O H Nielsen 1,✉, J Brynskov 2
PMCID: PMC2365397  PMID: 18475512

Abstract

T-Cell activation results in the release or shedding of a soluble form (45 kDa) of the cellular (55 kDa) low-affinity interleukin-2 receptor (α-chain) (slL-2R). The present study was performed to investigate if the serum concentration of sIL-2R is a marker of disease activity in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), a chronic inflammatory bowel disease. Twenty-seven UC patients (about half of them in remission) and 13 healthy volunteers were studied, sIL-2R concentrations were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and significantly elevated median sIL-2R values were found in clinically active UC (150 pg/ml; range 100–420), compared to inactive UC (145 pg/ml; range 110–255), and healthy controls (110 pg/ml; range 80–165) (p < 0.01). There was no correlation between sIL-2R concentrations and extent of the disease. Due to the overlap of serum sIL-2R concentrations between different disease stages and controls, the general diagnostic value seems to be limited. However, since slL-2R release is an IL-2 dependent phenomenon, we conclude that the demonstration of increased serum sIL-2R concentrations in UC suggests the existence of an enhanced T-cell activation in vivo in this disease. Further longitudinal studies are required to elucidate if repeated measurements of sIL-2R levels provide an additional way of monitoring UC disease activity in individual patients.

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Selected References

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