The need for reliable biomarkers for monitoring disease activity in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) is increasing. This study aimed at characterizing the correlation between serum sTREM-1 levels and diseases activity in Chinese patients with UC. Consecutive 76 patients with UC and 20 healthy subjects were prospectively enrolled. The disease activity of UC was assessed according to Mayo Score. Expression levels of TREM-1 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and serum sTREM-1 levels were evaluated at the time when the disease activity was determined. Other laboratory parameters, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were also determined. Both TREM-1 expression levels in PBMCs and serum sTREM-1 levels from patients with UC were significantly increased compared to healthy subjects. In addition, the levels of TREM-1 expression and serum sTREM-1 were significantly elevated in UC patients with moderate or severe disease compared to the patients with quiescent or mild disease. More importantly, both levels of TREM-1 expression in PBMCs and serum sTREM-1 levels were significantly correlated with disease activity. The correlation between sTREM-1 and disease activity was higher than the correlations between CRP and disease activity or ESR and disease activity. Our findings suggest that serum sTREM-1 could be a potential serum biomarker for monitoring disease activity in Chinese patients with UC, and could be a promising surrogate for CRP and ESR.
Keywords: Chinese patients; Ulcerative colitis (UC); disease activity; sTREM-1; triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1).