Elevated basal intestinal mucosal cytokine levels in asymptomatic first-degree relatives of patients with Crohn's disease

AIM To determine levels of cytokines incolonic mucosa of asymptomatic first degreerelatives of Crohn’s disease patients.METHODS Cytokines(Interleukin(IL)1-Beta,IL-2,IL-5 and IL-8)were measured using ELISAin biopsy samples of normal looking colonicmucosa of first degree relatives of Crohn’sdisease patients(n = 9)and from normalcontrols(n = 10)with no family history ofCrohn’s disease.RESULTS Asymptomatic first degree relativesof patients with Crohn’s disease had significantlyhigher levels of basal intestinal mucosalcytokines(IL-2,IL-5 and IL-8)than normalcontrols.Whether these increased cytokinelevels serve as phenotypic markers for a geneticpredisposition to developing Crohns diseaselater on,or whether they indicate early(pre-clinical)damage has yet to be further defined.CONCLUSION Asymptomatic first degreerelatives of Crohn’s disease patients have higherlevels of cytokines in their normal-lookingintestinal mucosa compared to normal controls,This supports the hypothesis that increasedcytokines may be a cause or an early event inthe inflammatory cascade of Crohns disease andare not merely a result of the inflammatoryprocess.