P066 Exploration of critical molecules for optimizing treatment by analyzing in flammatory cytokines in the intestinal mucosa of patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background Inflammatory cytokines initiate and sustain the perpetuation of processes leading to chronic inflammatory conditions such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Research into the cytokine biology of IBD has nurtured the dogmatic view that distinct immunotypes characterize different IBD subtypes. Recently, many biologics have emerged as the treatment options for IBD patients. Still, it is challenging to establish biomarkers for predicting their effectiveness because the cytokines that determine the IBD clinical phenotype vary in individual patients. Therefore, this study aims to explore critical molecules for optimizing treatment by analyzing inflammatory cytokines in the intestinal mucosa of IBD patients. Methods From September 2019, to February 2020, patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) who underwent colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy, and the control group, patients who received colorectal polypectomy at our institution, were enrolled in the study. We took biopsies from inflamed ileal or colonic mucosa. We analyzed the gene expression of various inflammatory cytokines by real-time PCR using RT2 Profiler PCR Array (96-Well Format) Human Inflammatory Cytokines & Receptors (QIAGEN). Cytokines not included in this array were subjected to real-time PCR separately. Based on these data, we investigated the relationship between mucosal cytokines and clinical characteristics. Results The total number of patients was 23 (control 5, UC 12, CD 6) cases, the median age was 51 years (18–78), genders were fifteen males and eight females. Disease phenotype was divided into extensive colitis/ left-sided colitis/proctitis (10/1/1) in UC patients, and A1/A2/A3 (2/3/1), L1/L3 (2/4), B1/B1+p/B2/B3 (3/1/1/1) in CD patients. Seven patients were steroid-dependent, and six patients were refractory to the anti-TNFα agent. The higher gene expressions of CCR2/CXCL1/CXCL3/CXCL13, IL-8, IL-33, and SPP1 in inflamed mucosa of UC compared to those of CD (p Conclusion Our results suggest that UC exhibits different cytokine patterns in the intestinal mucosa from CD as reported previously. Exploration of cytokine expressions in the intestinal mucosa may lead to predicting refractory IBD. The identification of molecules that can predict therapeutic effectiveness helps to optimize IBD treatment in the future.