Increased catabolism and decreased unsaturation of ganglioside in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Aim: To investigate whether accelerated catabolism of ganglioside and decreased ganglioside content contribute to the etiology of pro-inflammatory intestinal disease.

Methods: Intestinal mucosa from terminal ileum or colon was obtained from patients with ulcerative colitis or inflammatory Crohn's disease (n = 11) undergoing bowel resection and compared to control samples of normal intestine from patients with benign colon polyps (n = 6) and colorectal cancer (n = 12) in this observational case-control study. Gangliosides and phospholipids of intestinal mucosa were characterized by class and ceramide or fatty acid composition using liquid chromatography triple-quad mass spectrometry.