Calprotectin: two sides of the same coin

Abstract

Calprotectin is a calcium binding protein produced by neutrophils and monocytes in course of inflammation. Today, the role of faecal calprotectin in chronic inflammatory bowel disease is well known, but in recent years the attention has been shifted towards circulating calprotectin. In fact, this molecule can be measured in different biological fluids: blood, saliva and urine using different analytic methods that this review describes. Furthermore, different data confirm the relevant role of serum calprotectin in autoimmune diseases. In this review we will highlight the correlation between high levels of circulating calprotectin and specific autoantibodies of major autoimmune pathologies paving the way to the employment of calprotectin measurement as useful biomarker for monitoring outcome in different pathologies.

Serum Calprotectin in the Evaluation of Gastrointestinal Diseases: An Ace up Your Sleeve?

“…In particular, studies in the literature show that sCP promotes the induction of CD8-T cells that have pre-programmed cytotoxic functions. Further, sCP regulates the overexpression of dendritic cells, acts as an endogenous ligand of CD69, and is a costimulatory raiser of CD40/CD40L, increasing the activation of T-cells [8]. sCP directly bound white cells such as macrophages, granulocytes, and monocytes and promoted the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1, and IL-6, correlating with inflammation [16,17].…”

“…The data in the literature from several studies show that sCP resulted in an increase in active IBD and it was correlated with disease activity in both UC and CD. Furthermore, a significant correlation has been identified with CRP levels and with endoscopic findings and scores, such the simple endoscopic score for Crohn's disease [SES-CD] and the Mayo score [8,25,26,30,31]. Moreover, a positive correlation has also been found with clinical indices such as the Harvey and Walmsley index [4].…”

“…Further, it was able to predict disease burden and its outcomes [26]. On the other hand, some authors suggested a more significant correlation between serum calprotectin and serum C-RP but not fCP, suggesting that sCP was a more representative marker of systemic inflammation than localized gut inflammation if compared to fCP [8,27].…”

“…Calprotectin: From Biology to Clinical Practice Use Calprotectin (CP) is a calcium-and zinc-binding protein composed of two small proteins, named S100A8 and S100A9 [8]. It is produced or released by immune cells as activated neutrophils and monocytes but also endothelial cells.…”