Different fecal matrix metalloprotease profile in ulcerative colitis, infectious diarrhea and diarrhea predominant irritable bowel syndrome patients

Introduction: Our recent study demonstrated that in the absence of increased inflammatory markers in the stool, elevated fecal serine-protease activity could differentiate between patients with diarrhea predominant IBS (IBS-D) and subjects with ulcerative colitis (UC), therefore could have a diagnostic potential in IBS-D. Other proteases, the matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) have been implicated in tissue damage associated with inflammatory bowel disease, thus fecal MMP levels could also have theoretical benefit in the differenzial diagnosis of diarrhea. Aims: The aims of this work were (i) to determine the level…