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World J Gastrointest Pathophysiol. Feb 15, 2015; 6(1): 13-22
Published online Feb 15, 2015. doi: 10.4291/wjgp.v6.i1.13
Laboratory markers in ulcerative colitis: Current insights and future advances
Michele Cioffi, Antonella De Rosa, Rosalba Serao, Ilaria Picone, Maria Teresa Vietri
Michele Cioffi, Antonella De Rosa, Rosalba Serao, Ilaria Picone, Maria Teresa Vietri, Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and General Pathology, Second Medical School Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
Author contributions: Cioffi M designed the research, analysed the data, and wrote the paper; De Rosa A contributed analytic tools, analysed the data; Serao R analysed the data; Picone I contributed analytic tools; Vietri MT designed the research, contributed analytic tools, and wrote the paper.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Michele Cioffi, MD, Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and General Pathology, Second Medical School Naples, Via L. De Crecchio 7, 80138 Naples, Italy. michele.cioffi@unina2.it
Telephone: +39-08-15665680 Fax: +39-08-1450169
Received: May 27, 2014
Peer-review started: May 27, 2014
First decision: June 28, 2014
Revised: October 3, 2014
Accepted: December 29, 2014
Article in press: December 31, 2014
Published online: February 15, 2015
Processing time: 260 Days and 1.6 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease are the major forms of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Tests sometimes invasive are routine for the diagnosis and care of patients with IBD. The employment of non-invasive biomarkers is needed. We describe biomarkers assessed in UC, with special reference to acute-phase proteins and serologic markers and thereafter, we describe the new biological markers. The progress of molecular biology tools have revolutionised the field of the biomarker. The techniques available for biomarkers development are genomics and proteomics. Correlating serologic markers with genotypes and clinical phenotypes should enhance our understanding of pathophysiology of UC.