Endoscopic healing is associated with a reduced risk of biologic treatment failure in patients with ulcerative colitis.

Increasing number of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) have received biologic treatment during the last decade. The association between endoscopic healing (EH) and biologic treatment failure remains understudied. Medical information of UC patients who started biologic treatment was retrospectively collected.

Increased DNA-incorporated thiopurine metabolite as a possible mechanism for leukocytopenia through cell apoptosis in inflammatory bowel disease patients with NUDT15 mutation.

Background And Aims: Polymorphisms in the nucleotide diphosphate-linked moiety X-type motif 15 (NUDT15) gene are associated with thiopurine-induced leukopenia in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). NUDT15-associated subcellular thiopurine metabolism has not been investigated in primary lymphocytes. We hypothesized that NUDT15 mutation increases DNA-incorporated deoxythioguanosine (dTG) and induces apoptosis in lymphocytes.

Increased Colonic Expression of ACE2 Associates with Poor Prognosis in Crohn's disease.

Background And Aims: The host receptor for SARS-CoV-2, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), is highly expressed in small intestine. Our aim was to study colonic ACE2 expression in Crohn's disease (CD) and non-inflammatory bowel disease (non-IBD) controls. We hypothesized that the colonic expression levels of ACE2 impacts CD course.

Decreased Colonic Activin Receptor-Like Kinase 1 Disrupts Epithelial Barrier Integrity in Patients With Crohn's Disease.

Background & Aims: Intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) barrier dysfunction is critical to the development of Crohn's disease (CD). However, the mechanism is understudied. We recently reported increased microRNA-31-5p (miR-31-5p) expression in colonic IECs of CD patients, but downstream targets and functional consequences are unknown.

Combination of colonoscopy and magnetic resonance enterography is more useful for clinical decision making than colonoscopy alone in patients with complicated Crohn's disease.

Background/aims: The small bowel is affected in more than half of patients with Crohn's disease (CD) at the time of diagnosis, and small bowel involvement has a negative impact on the long-term outcome. Many patients reportedly have active lesions in the small intestine even in patients in clinical remission. This study was performed to compare findings of magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) and ileocolonoscopy.

Individualized treatment based on CYP3A5 single-nucleotide polymorphisms with tacrolimus in ulcerative colitis.

Background/aims: The pharmacokinetics of tacrolimus (TAC) is known to be largely influenced by single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CYP3A5. Patients starting TAC require careful dose adjustment, owing to the wide range of optimal dosages, depending on their CYP3A5 expression status. Here, we evaluated whether individualization of TAC dosages based on CYP3A5 SNPs would improve its therapeutic efficacy in ulcerative colitis.

Randomized, crossover questionnaire survey of acceptabilities of controlled-release mesalazine tablets and granules in ulcerative colitis patients.

Background/aims: Oral mesalazine is an important treatment for ulcerative colitis (UC), and non-adherence to mesalazine increases the risk of relapse. Controlled-release (CR) mesalazine has 2 formulations: tablets and granules. The relative acceptabilities of these formulations may influence patient adherence; however, they have not been compared to date.

Colonic epithelial miR-31 associates with the development of Crohn's phenotypes.

Background: Crohn's disease (CD) is highly heterogeneous, due in large part to variability in cellular processes that underlie the natural history of CD, thereby confounding effective therapy. There is a critical need to advance understanding of the cellular mechanisms that drive CD heterogeneity.

Methods: We performed small RNA sequencing of adult colon tissue from CD and NIBD controls.

Histological Risk Factors to Predict Clinical Relapse in Ulcerative Colitis With Endoscopically Normal Mucosa.

Background And Aims: The current goal of treatment for ulcerative colitis [UC] is endoscopic and ultimately histological mucosal healing. However, there is no consensus on the definition of histological mucosal healing. We evaluated histological risk factors for clinical relapse in UC patients with endoscopically normal mucosa to focus on the importance of histological evaluation.

NUDT15 codon 139 is the best pharmacogenetic marker for predicting thiopurine-induced severe adverse events in Japanese patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a multicenter study.

Background: Despite NUDT15 variants showing significant association with thiopurine-induced adverse events (AEs) in Asians, it remains unclear which variants of NUDT15 or whether additional genetic variants should be tested to predict AEs. To clarify the best pharmacogenetic test to be used clinically, we performed association studies of NUDT15 variants and haplotypes with AEs, genome-wide association study (GWAS) to discover additional variants, and ROC analysis to select the model to predict severe AEs.

Methods: Overall, 2630 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were enrolled and genotyped for NUDT15 codon 139; 1291 patients were treated with thiopurines.

A Simple 1-Day Colon Capsule Endoscopy Procedure Demonstrated to be a Highly Acceptable Monitoring Tool for Ulcerative Colitis.

Background: Second-generation colon capsule endoscopy (CCE-2) has been reported as a potential tool for monitoring ulcerative colitis (UC). However, its excretion rate is still unsatisfactory, and the bowel preparation regimen is not well tolerated. Furthermore, a standard bowel preparation regimen validated for UC has not been established.

Steroid-refractory extensive enteritis complicated by ulcerative colitis successfully treated with adalimumab.

Extracolonic involvement of the gastrointestinal tract is extremely uncommon in ulcerative colitis (UC) and rarely found in the upper gastrointestinal tract or in postoperative cases since it typically responds to steroids. Here we report a case of UC complicated by extensive ileal inflammation that was refractory to steroids. A 20-year-old man was diagnosed with UC of typical pancolitis without ileal involvement and started treatment with pH-dependent mesalazine and oral prednisolone.

Usefulness of fecal calprotectin for the early prediction of short-term outcomes of remission-induction treatments in ulcerative colitis in comparison with two-item patient-reported outcome.

Background: Fecal calprotectin (FC) is well accepted as a non-invasive biomarker which objectively reflects colonic inflammation in ulcerative colitis (UC). However, its value as a marker of response during the early phase of remission induction treatment has not been well studied. The aim of this study is to evaluate the significance of FC for predicting the short-term outcomes of remission induction treatment in patients with UC.

Osteopontin attenuates acute gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease by preventing apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells.

Background And Aims: Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a major complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which often targets gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Osteopontin (OPN) plays an important physiological role in the efficient development of Th1 immune responses and cell survival by inhibiting apoptosis. The role of OPN in acute GI-GVHD is poorly understood.

[Clinical significance of human intestinal spirochetosis: a retrospective study].

The clinical and pathological features of human intestinal spirochetosis (HIS) are not well known. Here we report 55 patients with HIS who were diagnosed at our institution during the past 5 years. Seven patients presented with symptoms such as abdominal pain or diarrhea, while the others were incidentally diagnosed during screening colonoscopy.

Lipocalin 2 prevents intestinal inflammation by enhancing phagocytic bacterial clearance in macrophages.

Lipocalin 2 (Lcn2), also called neutrophil gelatinase B-associated lipocalin (NGAL), is an anti-microbial peptide originally identified in neutrophil granules. Although Lcn2/NGAL expression is increased in the inflamed intestinal tissues of patients with inflammatory bowel disease, the role of Lcn2/NGAL in the development of intestinal inflammation remains unclear. Here we investigated the role of Lcn2/NGAL in intestinal inflammation using a spontaneous mouse colitis model, interleukin-10 knock out (IL-10 KO) mice.

Tacrolimus or infliximab for severe ulcerative colitis: short-term and long-term data from a retrospective observational study.

Objective: Treatment of severe ulcerative colitis (UC) is challenging. Although the efficacy of tacrolimus (TAC) and infliximab (IFX) have been evaluated in patients with severe UC, the safety and efficacy levels of sequential therapies (TAC→IFX/IFX→TAC) in these patients remain unclear. The aim of this study was to assess short-term and long-term outcomes in patients with severe UC treated with TAC and IFX.

Osteopontin Deficiency Accelerates Spontaneous Colitis in Mice with Disrupted Gut Microbiota and Macrophage Phagocytic Activity.

Background: Osteopontin (OPN) is a multifunctional protein expressed in a variety of tissues and cells. Recent studies revealed increased OPN expression in the inflamed intestinal tissues of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The role of OPN in the pathophysiology of IBD, however, remains unclear.

Efficacy of Thiopurines in Biologic-Naive Japanese Patients With Crohn's Disease: A Single-Center Experience.

Background/aims: Early use of biologics in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) improves quality of life. However, the effects of the early use of immunomodulators on long-term outcomes remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of immunomodulators in patients with CD.