BackgroundExcessive and inappropriate immune responses are the hallmark of several autoimmune disorders, including the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD): Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). A complex etiology involving both environmental and genetic factors influences IBD pathogenesis. The role of microRNAs (miRNAs), noncoding RNAs involved in regulating numerous biological processes, to IBD pathology, in terms of initiation and progression, remains ill-defined. In the present study, we evaluated the relationship between colon, peripheral blood, and saliva whole miRNome expression in IBD patients and non-inflammatory bowel disease (non-IBD) controls to identify miRNAs that could discriminate CD from UC. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to validate and assess miRNA expression.ResultsMicroarray analysis demonstrated that upwards of twenty six miRNAs were changed in CD and UC colon biopsies relative to the non-IBD controls. CD was associated with the differential expression of 10 miRNAs while UC was associated with 6 miRNAs in matched colon tissues. CD was associated with altered expression of 6 miRNAs while UC was associated with 9 miRNAs in whole blood. Expression of miR-101 in CD patients and miR-21, miR-31, miR-142-3p, and miR-142-5p in UC patients were altered in saliva.ConclusionsOur results suggest that there is specific miRNA expression patterns associated with UC versus CD in three separate tissue/body fluids (colon, blood, and saliva). Further, the aberrant miRNA expression profiles indicate that miRNAs may be contributory to IBD pathogenesis, or at least reflect the underlying inflammation. Scrutinizing miRNA expression in saliva and blood samples may be beneficial in monitoring or diagnosing disease in IBD patients. A panel of miRNAs (miR-19a, miR-21, miR-31, miR-101, miR-146a, and miR-375) may be used as markers to identify and discriminate between CD and UC.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12865-015-0069-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Sucrase insufficiency has been observed in children with of functional bowel disorders (FBD) and symptoms of dietary carbohydrate intolerance may be indistinguishable from those of FBD. A two-phase 13C-sucrose/13C-glucose breath test (13C-S/GBT) was used to assess sucrase activity because disaccharidase assays are seldom performed in adults. When 13C-sucrose is hydrolyzed to liberate monosaccharides, oxidation to 13CO2 is a proportional indicator of sucrase activity. Subsequently, 13C-glucose oxidation rate was determined after a secondary substrate ingestion (superdose) to adjust for individual habitus effects (Phase II). 13CO2 enrichment recovery ratio from 13C-sucrose and secondary 13C-glucose loads reflect the individualized sucrase activity [Coefficient of Glucose Oxidation for Sucrose (CGO-S)]. To determine if sucrase insufficiency could be a factor in FBD, 13C-S/GBT was validated using subjects with known sucrase gene mutation status by comparing 13CO2-breath enrichment with plasma 13C-glucose enrichment. 13C-S/GBT was used to assess sucrose digestion in FBD patients and asymptomatic controls. 13CO2-breath enrichment correlated with the appearance of 13C-sucrose-derived glucose in plasma (r 2 = 0.80). Mean, control group CGO-S-enrichment outcomes were 1.01 at 60′, 0.92 at 75′, and 0.96 at mean 60′–75′ with normal CGO-S defined as >0.85 (95% C.I.). In contrast, FBD patients demonstrated lower CGO-S values of 0.77 at 60′, 0.77 at 75′, and 0.76 at mean 60′–75′ (Chi Square: 6.55; p < 0.01), which points to sucrose maldigestion as a cause of FBD.

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