Syndecan-1 as a Surrogate Marker for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

One of the main hypothesis for the etiology of Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an inappropriate and ongoing activation of the mucosal immune system in response to the presence of normal luminal flora. This aberrant response is most likely facilitated by defects in both the barrier function and the mucosal immune system of the intestinal epithelium. Syndecans are a class proteoglycans that take part in both cell adhesion and growth factor binding. Of the four known syndecan core proteins, syndecan-1 (CD138) and one of the best studied of this group and is also the relevant to the this study as it is expressed on the basolateral surface of columnar epithelial cells of the colon. Syndecan-1 functions as an integral membrane protein that participates in cell proliferation, cell migration and cell matrix interactions in the GI tract. Evidence for a reduction of syndecan-1 expression in the regenerating epithelium that overlies inflamed tissue was reported in both acute and chronic inflammation. This protein that is lost from the inflamed mucosal membrane might shed to the serum. Elevated serum levels of syndecan-1 may be predictive of disease presence and extent.