@article {Luchettijrheum.170833, author = {Michele Maria Luchetti and Francesco Ciccia and Chiara Avellini and Devis Benfaremo and Giuliana Guggino and Alessia Farinelli and Monia Ciferri and Matteo Rossini and Silvia Svegliati and Tatiana Spadoni and Laura Bolognini and Giammarco Fava and Piergiorgio Mosca and Rosaria Gesuita and Edlira Skrami and Giovanni Triolo and Armando Gabrielli}, title = {Sclerostin and Antisclerostin Antibody Serum Levels Predict the Presence of Axial Spondyloarthritis in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease}, elocation-id = {jrheum.170833}, year = {2018}, doi = {10.3899/jrheum.170833}, publisher = {The Journal of Rheumatology}, abstract = {Objective The early diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-associated spondyloarthritis (SpA/IBD) in patients affected by IBD represents a major topic in clinical practice; in particular, to date there are no available serum biomarkers revealing the presence of joint inflammation in these patients. Sclerostin (SOST), an antagonist of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, and antisclerostin-immunoglobulin G (anti-SOST{\textendash}IgG) have been recently studied in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) as a putative marker of disease activity. Methods SOST and anti-SOST-IgG serum levels were assayed in 125 patients with IBD, 85 with axial or peripheral SpA, and in control groups (patients with AS and rheumatoid arthritis, and healthy individuals). The diagnostic performance in discriminating the presence of SpA/IBD was assessed for both candidate biomarkers. Results Patients affected by SpA/IBD with axial involvement displayed significantly lower levels of SOST and higher levels of anti-SOST-IgG compared to patients with only peripheral arthritis, IBD, and controls. Moreover, SOST and anti-SOST-IgG serum levels were inversely correlated and were associated with the duration of articular symptoms. Both biomarkers showed good accuracy in predicting the presence of axial SpA in patients with IBD. Conclusion We demonstrated that in patients with IBD, SOST and anti-SOST-IgG might represent novel biomarkers to assess the presence of axial joint involvement. Moreover, the development of anti-SOST-IgG and the subsequent decrease of SOST serum levels could play a role in the pathogenesis of SpA/IBD.}, issn = {0315-162X}, URL = {https://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2018/01/24/jrheum.170833}, eprint = {https://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2018/01/24/jrheum.170833.full.pdf}, journal = {The Journal of Rheumatology} }