Objective: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients often present with microscopic signs of gut inflammation. We used proteomic techniques to identify the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in the colon tissues of patients with AS and patients with gut inflammation, and then used investigated the influence of NMRAL1 protein on inflammatory cytokines to explore its potential role in the pathogenesis of AS and gut inflammation.
Methods: Colonic mucosal tissues were collected from four different groups: healthy individuals (group A), patients with gut inflammation only (group B), patients with AS only (group C), and patients with AS combined with gut inflammation (group D).