Anti-high mobility group box 1 and box 2 non-histone chromosomal proteins (HMGB1/HMGB2) antibodies and anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA): accuracy in differentially diagnosing UC and CD and correlation with inflammatory bowel disease phenotype.

Background: The development of a supportive diagnostic method has long been required to differentially diagnose ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). Several antibodies circulate in the sera of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. We previously identified the high mobility group box 1 and box 2 non-histone chromosomal proteins (HMGB1 and HMGB2) as novel antigens of perinuclear type anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (pANCA) and discovered anti-HMGB1/HMGB2 antibodies in sera from patients with UC.