Detection of galectin-3 in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases: new serum marker of active forms of IBD?

It is an open question whether multifunctional galectin-3 can be a serum marker in inflammatory bowel disease. Western blots and commercial ELISA detected and quantitated the lectin immunocytochemistry using double labeling localized it in tissue sections. Serum concentrations were significantly increased in specimen of patients with active and remission-stage ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, associated with emerging positivity of CD14(+) cells. Enhanced concentration of galectin-3 in serum reflects presence of disease and points to its involvement in the pathogenesis.