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Decreased plasma postheparin diamine oxidase levels in celiac disease

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Abstract

The highest diamine oxidase activity is contained in small-bowel mucosa and, after heparin administration, the enzyme is released by the intestine into the plasma. Previous experimental studies showed that measurement of plasma postheparin diamine oxidase activity is a sensitive test for quantitating the length and severity of small-bowel mucosal injury. On this basis, we measured plasma diamine oxidase activity in celiac disease, a condition characterized by a loss of mature enterocyte mass. Twenty-five untreated celiac patients, 21 celiac patients on a gluten-free diet, 16 patients with small-bowel diseases other than celiac disease (abnormal controls), and 18 healthy controls were studied. Diamine oxidase activity was measured using [14 C]putrescine as substrate and expressed as units per milliliter of plasma. Basal diamine oxidase levels in controls and patients were too low for significant differences between the groups to be detected. After preliminary experiments in which, on separate occasions, heparin was intravenously administered at doses of 75 and 150 units/kg and in which the second blood sample was taken 10 and 30 min after heparin injection, it was decided to use the 150 unit/kg dose and to measure plasma diamine oxidase activity in the blood sample taken 10 min after heparin stimulation in all the remaining subjects taking part in the study. Postheparin diamine oxidase levels were significantly lower in untreated celiac patients (mean 1.53 units/ml) than in healthy controls (mean 5.85), treated celiac patients (mean 4.82), and abnormal controls (mean 2.62). Except in three patients, no overlap between healthy controls and untreated celiac patients was observed. No significant difference was detected between healthy controls and treated celiac patients. Our results show that plasma postheparin diamine oxidase activity mirrors not only mucosal damage but also mucosal recovery of the small bowel, thus providing a new circulating marker for the status of the human intestinal mucosa. Measurement of plasma diamine oxidase may represent a useful test to screen patients for intestinal biopsy and to follow up the response to gluten-free diet.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. I Patologia Medica, Nuove Patologie, Policlinico S. Orsola, Via Massarenti 9, 40138, Bologna, Italy

    Gino Roberto Corazza MD, Annaida Falasca PhD, Alessandra Strocchi MD, Carlo Alfonso Rossi MD & Giovanni Gasbarrini MD

  2. Department of Biochemistry, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Gino Roberto Corazza MD, Annaida Falasca PhD, Alessandra Strocchi MD, Carlo Alfonso Rossi MD & Giovanni Gasbarrini MD

Authors
  1. Gino Roberto Corazza MD
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  2. Annaida Falasca PhD
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  3. Alessandra Strocchi MD
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  4. Carlo Alfonso Rossi MD
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  5. Giovanni Gasbarrini MD
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Additional information

This work was partly supported by the CNR grants 84.02351.56/115.06909 and 840729.

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Corazza, G.R., Falasca, A., Strocchi, A. et al. Decreased plasma postheparin diamine oxidase levels in celiac disease. Digest Dis Sci 33, 956–961 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01535991

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01535991

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