UP-REGULATION OF E-SELECTIN AND INTERCELLULAR-ADHESION MOLECULE-1 DIFFERS BETWEEN CROHNS-DISEASE AND ULCERATIVE-COLITIS

In present study, we investigated if inflammatory mediators secreted b y the inflamed colonic mucosa from patients with Crohn's disease and u lcerative colitis had the ability to up-regulate the expression of two adhesion molecules, E-selectin and intercellular adhesion molecule-1. Organ culture techniques and enzyme-linked immunoassays were used to quantify these up-regulations in human umbilical vein endothelial cell s. Our results show that, in Crohn's disease patients, the expression of E-selectin was up-regulated 5.5-fold over control values and interc ellular adhesion molecule-1 expression was increased 2.4-fold. In ulce rative colitis patients, E-selectin expression was up-regulated twofol d over controls with only a 1.5-fold increase in intercellular adhesio n molecule-1 expression. Histologically, there was no difference in th e degree of inflammation between the two disease groups. Sulfasalazine , in a dose-dependent manner, inhibited E-selectin expression up to 58 % and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 up to 62% when stimulated by l ipopolysaccharide. The up-regulation of E-selectin and intercellular a dhesion molecule-1 may play an important role in mediating the inflamm atory process in inflammatory bowel disease. The observed difference b etween Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis may reflect differences in inflammatory cell infiltrates or the histopathological differences between the two diseases.