Study on the Correlations among Disease Activity Index and Salivary Transforming Growth Factor-beta1 and Nitric Oxide in Ulcerative Colitis Patients

Abstract : Growth factors and nitric oxide (NO) play a major role in dysregulated immune response in ulcerative colitis (UC). Recent evidence has shown increased levels of transforming growth factor‐β 1 (TGF‐β 1 ) in UC and suggested an anti‐inflammatory effect for this factor. Based on our recent study, dysfunctional immunoregulation is present in saliva of UC patients, we hypothesized that salivary level of NO and TGF‐β 1 may differ by severity of UC and be useful to determine the activity of the disease. Thirty‐seven UC patients and 15 healthy controls were enrolled and saliva samples were obtained. Truelove‐Witts severity index and modified Truelove‐Witts severity index were used to determine the severity of the disease. NO and TGF‐β 1 levels were detected in saliva of all patients and control subjects using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. A total of 21 patients had mild disease while 8 had moderate and 8 had severe colitis. Adjusted for baseline characteristics, the levels of NO and TGF‐β 1 in different groups were compared. Salivary NO and TGF‐β 1 levels were higher in UC patients comparing to controls ( P < 0.00005 and P = 0.005, respectively). The levels of NO and TGF‐β 1 showed no significant differences among the severity groups ( P = 0.46 and P = 0.23, respectively). NO levels linearly increased by age (Coeff = 1.5, r = 0.38, P = 0.02). Gender, extension of disease, and medical treatment did not affect NO and TGF‐β 1 levels. Although UC patients have abnormal amounts of NO and TGF‐β 1 in their saliva, their disease activity cannot be predicted by these factors, which may indicate a pathophysiologic role rather than being nonspecific inflammatory markers for TGF‐β 1 and NO.