Gastroenterology Research, ISSN 1918-2805 print, 1918-2813 online, Open Access
Article copyright, the authors; Journal compilation copyright, Gastroenterol Res and Elmer Press Inc
Journal website https://www.gastrores.org

Short Communication

Volume 16, Number 6, December 2023, pages 334-341

Serum Activin A Is a Novel Biomarker of Endoscopic Activity in Ulcerative Colitis

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1. Correlations between laboratory parameters and the MES. (a) Serum activin A, (b) CRP, (c) WBC, (d) ESR, (e) LRG. Serum activin A and CRP significantly correlated with the MES (Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient r = 0.591, P = 0.001; r = 0.487, P = 0.010, respectively), while WBC, ESR and LRG had no significant correlation (r = 0.236, P = 0.237; r = 0.281, P = 0.155; r = 0.173, P = 0.387, respectively). CRP: C-reactive protein; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; LRG: leucine-rich alpha-2 glycoprotein; MES: Mayo endoscopic score; WBC: white blood cell.
Figure 2.
Figure 2. Comparisons of laboratory parameters between patients with EH and non-EH. (a) Serum activin A, (b) CRP. Among laboratory parameters, only serum activin A was significantly different between the groups (Mann-Whitney U test, P = 0.047). CRP: C-reactive protein; EH: endoscopic healing.
Figure 3.
Figure 3. Receiver-operating characteristic curves for detecting non-EH. (a) Serum activin A, (b) CRP. The best cut-off value of serum activin A is 133.6 pg/mL, with a sensitivity of 0.682 and specificity of 1.000. The AUC of serum activin A is 0.791, while that of CRP is 0.723. AUC: area under the curve; CRP: C-reactive protein; EH: endoscopic healing.

Table

Table 1. Patient Characteristics
 
VariablesPatients (N = 27)
IQR: interquartile range.
Sex, male/female15 (55.6%)/12 (44.4%)
Age, years, median (IQR)44.0 (34.5 - 59.5)
Disease type
  Proctitis4 (14.8%)
  Left-side colitis6 (22.2%)
  Pancolitis17 (63.0%)
Current treatment
  5-aminosalicylic acid
    Oral22 (81.5%)
    Oral + topical1 (3.7%)
  Corticosteroids
    Oral4 (14.8%)
    Topical1 (3.7%)
  Immunomodulators
    Azathioprine4 (14.8%)
    6-mercaptopurin1 (3.7%)
  Biologics
    Infliximab1 (3.7%)
    Adalimumab2 (7.4%)
    Ustekinumab1 (3.7%)
    Vedolizumab1 (3.7%)
Laboratory parameter
  Serum activin A, pg/mL, median (IQR)134.8 (105.3 - 188.1)
  C-reactive protein, mg/dL, median (IQR)0.03 (0.02 - 0.09)
  White blood cell count, /µL, median (IQR)4,700 (3,700 - 5,500)
  Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mm/h, median (IQR)3.0 (2.0 - 9.5)
  Leucine-rich alpha-2 glycoprotein, µg/mL, median (IQR)10.8 (9.4 - 13.1)
Partial Mayo score, median (IQR)1 (0 - 1)
Mayo score, median (IQR)2 (1 - 3)
Mayo endoscopic subscore, median (IQR)1 (1 - 2)
Endoscopic healing/non-endoscopic healing5 (18.5%)/22 (81.5%)