Abstract
Enteroglucagon has been reported to have trophic effects on the intestinal mucosa, and is associated with proliferation and repair after various injuries of the small intestine. Glicentin is an active enteroglucagon, and is present in the largest amount in the intestine. We established a method for quantifying human plasma levels of glicentin, and measured these levels in patients with Crohn's disease. Twenty-three patients with Crohn's disease (14 males and 9 females) and 8 healthy adults were enrolled in this study. A sandwich ELISA method was used to quantify immunoreactive glicentin in plasma sampled from subjects fasting in the early morning and after the oral administration of 75g glucose (Trelan G®). The plasma glicentin levels in fasting subjects were significantly higher in patients with active-stage Crohn's disease, and were similar between the remission-stage Crohn's disease and normal controls. These levels after glucose administration were significantly higher in patients with active-stage Crohn's disease than in those with the disease in remission or in healthy controls. However, the pattern of the changes in the plasma glicentin levels after the glucose administration was similar among the three groups. These data suggest that plasma glicentin levels might reflect the pathological conditions and activity in Crohn's disease.
