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Colonic Ornithine Decarboxylase in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Ileorectal Activity Gradient, Guanosine Triphosphate Stimulation, and Association with Epithelial Regeneration but Not the Degree of Inflammation and Clinical Features

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Abstract

The role of colonic mucosal ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains controversial. This study assessed mucosal ODC activity in IBD patients segment by segment with regard to patient characteristics, disease activity/duration, medication, degree of mucosal inflammation, and presence/absence of epithelial regeneration and guanosine triphosphate (GTP) stimulation. Mucosal ODC activity was determined in biopsy specimens from the terminal ileum, cecum/ascending, transverse, and descending colon, and the sigmoid/rectum of 35 patients with IBD (18 with Crohn’s disease, 17 with ulcerative colitis) and 29 controls, using the amount of 14CO2 liberated from (carboxyl-14C)ornithine hydrochloride. GTP-stimulatable activity was expressed as the ratio of ODC activity in the presence and absence of GTP (70 μmol/L). Mucosal inflammation was assessed endoscopically/microscopically with previously described criteria. Presence/absence of mucosal regeneration also was determined by predefined criteria. Mucosal ODC-activity did not significantly differ in IBD patients and controls. There was a 4.4-fold activity gradient from the ileum to the rectum. Mucosal ODC activity was significantly higher in areas with epithelial regeneration compared to those without regeneration, and was stimulated by GTP by a factor of 1.42 in Crohn’s disease and 1.19 in ulcerative colitis patients compared to controls (p < 0.004). On the other hand, there was no significant association/relationship of mucosal ODC activity with disease activity/duration and the endoscopic/histologic degree of mucosal inflammation. The observation of unchanged mucosal ODC activity in patients with IBD and the absence of a significant relationship with clinical and endoscopic/histologic disease characteristics speaks against a major role of ODC in IBD as a major disease marker. The role of the ileorectal gradient, the enhanced activity in areas with epithelial regeneration, and the GTP-stimulatable form, however, need further investigation with regard to a possible involvement in carcinogenesis in IBD.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the Frauke Weiskamp Stiftung (Foundation).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Rehaklinik Ob der Tauber, Bad Mergentheim, Academic Teaching Hospital, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

    Hubert Allgayer

  2. Medical Clinic I, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Ulla Roisch & Elmar Zehnter

  3. Institute of Pathology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Dieter J. Ziegenhagen & Hans P. Dienes

  4. Department of Internal Medicine, Protestant Hospital Köln-Kalk, Academic Teaching Hospital, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Wolfgang Kruis

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  1. Hubert Allgayer
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  2. Ulla Roisch
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  3. Elmar Zehnter
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  4. Dieter J. Ziegenhagen
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  5. Hans P. Dienes
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  6. Wolfgang Kruis
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Correspondence to Hubert Allgayer.

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Allgayer, H., Roisch, U., Zehnter, E. et al. Colonic Ornithine Decarboxylase in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Ileorectal Activity Gradient, Guanosine Triphosphate Stimulation, and Association with Epithelial Regeneration but Not the Degree of Inflammation and Clinical Features. Dig Dis Sci 52, 25–30 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-006-9515-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-006-9515-4

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