Serum vitamin D and colonic vitamin D receptor in inflammatory bowel disease

AIM: To determine serum vitamin D levels and colonic vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and non-IBD patients and correlate these with histopathology. METHODS: Puerto Rican IBD (n = 10) and non-IBD (n = 10) patients >= 21 years old scheduled for colonoscopy were recruited. Each patient completed a questionnaire and provided a serum sample and a colonic biopsy of normal-appearing mucosa. For IBD patients, an additional biopsy was collected from visually diseased mucosa. Serum vitamin D levels were measured by ultra-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Hematoxylin and eosin stained tissue sections from colonic biopsies were classified histologically as normal or colitis (active/inactive), and scored for the degree of inflammation present (0-3, inactive/absent to severe). Tissue sections from colonic biopsies were also stained by immunohistochemistry for VDR, for which representative diagnostic areas were photographed and scored for staining intensity using a 4-point scale. RESULTS: The IBD cohort was significantly younger (40.40 +/- 5.27, P < 0.05) than the non-IBD cohort (56.70 +/- 1.64) with a higher prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (40% vs 20%, respectively) and insufficiency (70% vs 50%, respectively). Histologic inflammation was significantly higher in visually diseased mucosa from IBD patients (1.95 +/- 0.25) than in normalappearing mucosa from control patients (0.25 +/- 0.08, P < 0.01) and from IBD patients (0.65 +/- 0.36, P < 0.05) and correlated inversely with VDR expression in visually diseased colonic tissue from IBD patients (r = -0.44, P < 0.05) and from IBD patients with Crohn's disease (r = -0.69, P < 0.05), but not in normal-appearing colonic tissue from control patients or IBD patients. Control and IBD patient serum vitamin D levels correlated positively with VDR expression in normal colon from control and IBD patients (r = 0.38, P < 0.05) and with patient age (r = 0.54, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Levels of serum vitamin D correlate positively with colonic VDR expression in visually normal mucosa whereas inflammation correlates negatively with colonic VDR expression in visually diseased mucosa in Puerto Rican patients.