Serum NGAL and S100A12 as Biomarkers of Active Disease in Ulcerative Colitis

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the potential use of serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and S100A12 (S100 calcium-binding protein A12) as biomarkers for determining disease activity in ulcerative colitis (UC) within the same study.Materials and Methods: The study included individuals from the active (n=34) and remission (n=34) periods of the same UC patients, as well as a control group (n=31). Venous blood samples were collected from patients with clinically and endoscopically diagnosed UC and from the control group to analyze NGAL and S100A12 levels, in addition to routine laboratory tests. All demographic and clinical variables were compared between the groups.Results: Patients with active ulcerative colitis exhibited markedly higher serum NGAL and S100A12 concentrations than those in remission or the control group (p = 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). In the ROC analysis performed to detect active UC, NGAL and S100A12 showed high sensitivity and specificity at their optimal cut-off values (p