Abstract
Pentraxin 3 [PTX3] is an acute-phase protein playing an important role in the regulation of the humoral arm of immune response. As one of the molecules from the conservative family of pentraxins, PTX3 is a soluble mediator involved in the transduction of pro-inflammatory signals between immunocompetent cells. Additionally, recognizing damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) during tissue injury mediates wound healing; therefore, its concentration potentially correlates with the severity of fibrosis. The aim of our study was to evaluate the value of the PTX3 measurement as a phenotypic marker of the stenotic form of Crohn's disease. The research covered 63 patients, 35 with the narrowing type (B2) and 28 with the inflammatory type (B2) of CD. The mean concentrations of PTX3 in the study were as follows: 3.06 ng/mL (95% CI: 1.27-6.99) for the B1 phenotype, 4.89 ng/mL (95% CI: 2.98-13.65) for the B2 phenotype, and 3.04 ng/mL (95% CI: 1.01-4.97) for the control group. PTX3 concentrations reached the highest values in the B2 group and the lowest in the control group. The differences between the B1 and B2 groups were statistically significant at p < 0.001. The presented studies indicate the potential role of PTX3 in the monitoring of tissue remodeling and the development of fibrosis in CD.