TY  - JOUR
A1  - Heidt, Christina
A1  - Kämmerer, Ulrike
A1  - Fobker, Manfred
A1  - Rüffer, Andreas
A1  - Marquardt, Thorsten
A1  - Reuss-Borst, Monika
T1  - Assessment of intestinal permeability and inflammation bio-markers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
JF  - Nutrients
N2  - Increased intestinal permeability and inflammation, both fueled by dysbiosis, appear to contribute to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis. This single-center pilot study aimed to investigate zonulin, a marker of intestinal permeability, and calprotectin, a marker of intestinal inflammation, measured in serum and fecal samples of RA patients using commercially available kits. We also analyzed plasma lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels, a marker of intestinal permeability and inflammation. Furthermore, univariate, and multivariate regression analyses were carried out to determine whether or not there were associations of zonulin and calprotectin with LPS, BMI, gender, age, RA-specific parameters, fiber intake, and short-chain fatty acids in the gut. Serum zonulin levels were more likely to be abnormal with a longer disease duration and fecal zonulin levels were inversely associated with age. A strong association between fecal and serum calprotectin and between fecal calprotectin and LPS were found in males, but not in females, independent of other biomarkers, suggesting that fecal calprotectin may be a more specific biomarker than serum calprotectin is of intestinal inflammation in RA. Since this was a proof-of-principle study without a healthy control group, further research is needed to validate fecal and serum zonulin as valid biomarkers of RA in comparison with other promising biomarkers.
KW  - rheumatoid arthritis
KW  - zonulin
KW  - calprotectin
KW  - LPS
KW  - fecal short-chain fatty acids
KW  - fiber intake
KW  - intestinal permeability
KW  - intestinal inflammation
Y1  - 2023
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-319377
SN  - 2072-6643
VL  - 15
IS  - 10
ER  -