Objectives: Takayasu arteritis (TA) may be associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). As there is such an overlap and since both diseases show granulomatous histopathological lesions we reasoned similar biological pathways might be implicated in both conditions. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ASCA) and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic (ANCA) antibodies - serological markers for IBD-among patients with TA.
Methods: Thirty-two patients with TA, 21 with Crohn's disease (CD), 17 with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 34 healthy controls were studied. Among 32 patients with TA, 2 had CD and one had UC concomitantly. ASCA Ig A and Ig G antibodies were analyzed using a commercial ELISA kit. Immune fluorescence analysis (IFA) was used to assess the presence of ANCA antibodies.
Results: Only patients with CD had significantly higher levels of both ASCA Ig A and Ig G, compared to patients with TA and healthy controls. Similarly, the frequency of ASCA positive patients was higher only among patients with CD. ASCA Ig A and Ig G antibodies were found in 16 % (5/32) of patients with TA. Among 3 patients, in whom TA and IBD co-existed, only one (one with CD) had positive ASCA Ig G and A antibodies. The p-ANCA antibodies were present among patients with UC (35 %) and CD (10 %).
Conclusion: ASCA positivity in TA was similar to that found in UC and healthy controls. No ANCA antibodies were detected among patients with TA.