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World J Gastroenterol. Jan 21, 2016; 22(3): 1304-1310
Published online Jan 21, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i3.1304
Antibody markers in the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease
Keiichi Mitsuyama, Mikio Niwa, Hidetoshi Takedatsu, Hiroshi Yamasaki, Kotaro Kuwaki, Shinichiro Yoshioka, Ryosuke Yamauchi, Shuhei Fukunaga, Takuji Torimura
Keiichi Mitsuyama, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan
Keiichi Mitsuyama, Hidetoshi Takedatsu, Hiroshi Yamasaki, Kotaro Kuwaki, Shinichiro Yoshioka, Ryosuke Yamauchi, Shuhei Fukunaga, Takuji Torimura, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan
Mikio Niwa, Institute for Advanced Sciences, Toagosei Co., Ltd., 2 Ohkubo, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 300-2611, Japan
Author contributions: All authors equally contributed to this paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict of interest related to the manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Keiichi Mitsuyama, MD, PhD, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, Kurume University School of Medicine, 67 Asahi-machi, Kurume 830-0011, Japan. ibd@med.kurume-u.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-942-317561 Fax: +81-942-342623
Received: April 20, 2015
Peer-review started: April 21, 2015
First decision: June 23, 2015
Revised: July 23, 2015
Accepted: September 28, 2015
Article in press: September 30, 2015
Published online: January 21, 2016
Processing time: 270 Days and 5.4 Hours
Abstract

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is a chronic intestinal inflammation of unknown etiology. The diagnosis of IBD is based on endoscopic, radiologic and histopathologic criteria. Recently, the search for a noninvasive marker that could augment or replace part of this diagnostic process has become a focus of IBD research. In this review, antibody markers, including microbial antibodies, autoantibodies and peptide antibodies, will be described, focusing on their common features. At present, no single marker with qualities that are satisfactory for the diagnosis and treatment of IBD has been identified, although panels of some antibodies are being evaluated with keen interest. The discovery of novel IBD-specific and sensitive markers is anticipated. Such markers could minimize the use of endoscopic and radiologic examinations and could enable clinicians to implement individualized treatment plans designed to improve the long-term prognosis of patients with IBD.

Keywords: Biomarker; Crohn’s disease; Serological antibody; Ulcerative colitis

Core tip: The diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is based on endoscopic, radiologic and histopathologic criteria. Recently, the search for a noninvasive marker that could augment or replace part of this diagnostic process has become a focus of IBD research. In this review, antibody markers, including microbial antibodies, autoantibodies and peptide antibodies, will be described, focusing on their common features. The discovery of novel IBD-specific and sensitive markers is anticipated. Such markers could minimize the use of endoscopic and radiologic examinations and could enable clinicians to implement individualized treatment plans designed to improve the long-term prognosis of patients with IBD.