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Colonic Mucosal Immune Activity in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Comparison with Healthy Controls and Patients with Ulcerative Colitis

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Abstract

Background and Aim

Mucosal immune activity may participate in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) pathogenesis. Mast- and T cell numbers from patients with IBS or ulcerative colitis (UC) and healthy controls were determined.

Methods

Between November 2007 and May 2012, patients with diarrhea-predominant IBS (D-IBS, n = 83), 49 patients with UC, and 25 healthy controls were recruited. Of the UC group, 28 were in remission and 21 had mildly active UC. Biopsies from each colon segment were subjected to immunohistochemical analysis. The mast cells, intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs), and lamina proprial lymphocytes (LPLs) were counted.

Results

Compared to the healthy controls, the patients with D-IBS, UC in remission, and mildly active UC had significantly higher mean colorectal mucosal mast-cell, IEL, and LPL counts. Comparison with the colon segments (ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid segments) that had once been involved in UC (in the patients with remission) revealed that the D-IBS colons had similar immune-cell counts. However, they had significantly fewer immune cells than the colon segments that presently showed involvement in the patients with mildly-activated UC. The mast-cell and IEL counts were similar in the D-IBS rectums and once-involved UC rectums but significantly higher in the presently-involved UC rectums. However, both the once-involved and presently-involved UC rectums had significantly higher LPL counts than the D-IBS rectums.

Conclusions

Patients with D-IBS had significantly higher colonic mucosal immune-cell counts than healthy controls but had similar counts to patients with UC in remission. The symptoms in both conditions may originate from low-grade inflammation in the colonic mucosa.

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Acknowledgments

The authors confirm that they have no financial arrangements with anyone in relation to this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, 221 Heukseok-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, 156-756, Republic of Korea

    Ji Yong Ahn, Kyung Hun Lee, Chang Hwan Choi, Ju Wan Kim, Hyun Woong Lee, Jeong Wook Kim & Sae Kyung Chang

  2. Department of Pathology, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Mi Kyung Kim & Gui Young Kwon

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Ji Yong Ahn

  4. Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Seungbong Han

  5. Department of Internal Medicine, Ewha Women’s University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Seong-Eun Kim

  6. Center for Functional Gastrointestinal and Motility Disorders, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Sung Min Kim

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  1. Ji Yong Ahn
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chang Hwan Choi.

Additional information

Ji Yong Ahn and Kyung Hun Lee contributed equally to this article.

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Ahn, J.Y., Lee, K.H., Choi, C.H. et al. Colonic Mucosal Immune Activity in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Comparison with Healthy Controls and Patients with Ulcerative Colitis. Dig Dis Sci 59, 1001–1011 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-013-2930-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-013-2930-4

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