Indices of granulocyte activity in inflammatory bowel disease

• Published in: Gut 1974-12, Vol.15 (12), p.953-959
• Main Authors: Kane, S. P., Hoffbrand, A. V., Neale, G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Blood Proteins - analysis; Chromatography, Gel; Cobalt Radioisotopes; Colitis, Ulcerative - blood; Crohn Disease - blood; Granulocytes; Hemoglobins - analysis; Humans; Leukocytes; Middle Aged; Molecular Weight; Muramidase - blood; Neutrophils; Protein Binding; Serum Albumin - analysis; Vitamin B 12 - blood
• ISSN: 0017-5749; 1468-3288; 1458-3288
• DOI: 10.1136/gut.15.12.953

In conditions with increased neutrophil production, the serum total vitamin B12-binding capacity (TBBC) is considered to correlate with the blood pool size of neutrophil granulocytes. The serum lysozyme, on the other hand, is a measure of neutrophil (and monocyte) turnover. The mean serum TBBC was significantly raised in patients with ulcerative colitis (range 1.23-5.51 ng/ml; mean 2.64 ng/ml) and patients with Crohn's disease (range 1.58-9.29 ng/ml; mean 2.93 ng/ml). The elevated values were shown to be due to rises in the granulocyte-secreted binding proteins, transcobalamins I and III. The TBBC was shown to rise with increasing activity of disease and to correlate roughly with the blood neutrophil granulocyte count. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease also had a significantly raised mean level of serum lysozyme (range 3.1 to 10.4 μg/ml; mean 6.8 μg/ml), but there was no correlation in individual patients between serum lysozyme and total B12-binding capacity. These results are taken to indicate an enlarged granulocyte pool and increased granulocyte turnover in inflammatory bowel disease.