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Reduced hydrophobicity of the colonic mucosal surface in ulcerative colitis as a hint at a physicochemical barrier defect

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Abstract

Purpose

There is increasing evidence that a defect of the gastrointestinal mucosal barrier is important for the development of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The hydrophobicity of the colonic mucosal surface is a measure of its resistance to luminal antigens, e.g. of bacterial origin. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine this parameter in patients suffering from IBD.

Methods

Nineteen patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), ten patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and 20 controls were examined. All underwent colonic surgery at the University Hospital Heidelberg. Clinical disease activity was determined. From every subject, colonic tissue specimens were obtained, and hydrophobicity of the mucosal surface was determined with a goniometer by multiple plateau contact angle measurements. Histological evaluation of disease activity was performed in directly adjacent tissue specimens.

Results

Hydrophobicity of the colonic mucosal surface, expressed as plateau contact angles, was significantly reduced in patients with UC (mean ± SEM, 47.8° ± 3.4°) compared to those with CD (72.0° ± 5.2°) and controls (72.5° ± 5.6°; over-all P = 0.0004; UC versus controls, P < 0.001; UC versus CD, P < 0.05; CD versus controls, P > 0.05). Between mucosal hydrophobicity and clinical disease activity, as well as mucosal hydrophobicity and histological disease activity, no significant correlation was found.

Conclusions

The results suggest a defective physicochemical barrier as an essential factor in the pathogenesis of UC, but not CD. The fact that no correlation was found between mucosal hydrophobicity and disease activity may indicate that the loss of mucosal hydrophobicity in UC is not exclusively a secondary effect due to inflammation.

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Acknowledgements

Three of the authors have changed their workplace in the meantime: Benjamin Funke: Department of Anesthesiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, INF 110, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Peter Kienle: Department of Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1, 68167 Mannheim, Germany; Frank Autschbach, SLK-Kliniken Heilbronn, Am Gesundbrunnen 20–26, 74078 Heilbronn, Germany.

R. E. was supported by the grant EH 196/5-1 by DFG.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Heidelberg, INF 410, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Annika Braun, Ulrike Schönfeld, Daniel Gotthardt, Alexandra Zahn, Wolfgang Stremmel & Robert Ehehalt

  2. Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, INF 110, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Thilo Welsch, Martina Kadmon & Peter Kienle

  3. Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, INF 220/221, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Benjamin Funke & Frank Autschbach

  4. Institute of Applied Physical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, INF 253, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Michael Zharnikov & Michael Grunze

Authors
  1. Annika Braun
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  2. Ulrike Schönfeld
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  3. Thilo Welsch
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  4. Martina Kadmon
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  5. Benjamin Funke
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  9. Peter Kienle
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  11. Michael Grunze
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  12. Wolfgang Stremmel
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  13. Robert Ehehalt
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert Ehehalt.

Additional information

Wolfgang Stremmel and Robert Ehehalt contributed equally to the original idea of the study.

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Braun, A., Schönfeld, U., Welsch, T. et al. Reduced hydrophobicity of the colonic mucosal surface in ulcerative colitis as a hint at a physicochemical barrier defect. Int J Colorectal Dis 26, 989–998 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-011-1190-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-011-1190-z

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