Serum anti-glycan-antibodies in relatives of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Authors:
Florian Kamm, Ulrike Strauch, Frauke Degenhardt, Rocio Lopez, Claudia Kunst, Gerhard Rogler, Andre Franke, Frank Klebl, Florian Rieders
Year of publication:
2018
Volume:
13
Issue:
3
Issn:
1932-6203
Journal title abbreviated:
PLoS ONE
Journal title long:
PloS one
Impact factor:
3.752
Abstract:
Serum anti-glycan antibodies are a promising tool for differential diagnosis, disease stratification and prediction of Crohn's disease (CD). To investigate possible heritability of the markers we assessed the presence of serum anti-glycan antibodies in affected and unaffected relatives of patients with CD.Serum samples of 169 IBD patients of the German inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) network (140 CD & 29 Ulcerative colitis (UC)), 349 relatives of CD patients, 63 relatives of UC patients and 46 healthy controls were tested for the presence of anti-glycan antibodies by ELISA in a blinded fashion. Clinical data of the IBD patients and controls were available.A higher proportion of non-affected CD relatives was positive for anti-glycan antibodies compared to healthy subjects. No inheritance of a specific pattern of anti-glycan antibodies could be detected. No difference in marker expression depending on the degree of relationship in the non-affected relatives was noted and the presence of family history did not lead to a difference in marker levels in the affected CD subjects.Non-affected CD relatives had a higher frequency of anti-glycan antibodies compared to healthy subjects. This difference was mild and was found to be true for the overall reactivity to glycan antigens, but not for specific patterns. This may indicate an inherited mechanism resulting in a non-specific increased reactivity to microbial antigens in IBD.