Plasma lysozyme levels and decay of neutrophilic granulocytes in patients with Crohn's disease.

In patients with Crohn's disease, the lysozyme concentration in plasma was compared with the Crohn's disease activity index, the granulocyte lysozyme content, the number of circulating neutrophilic granulocytes in peripheral blood and the unsaturated vitamin B12-binding capacity of the plasma cobalophilins as an index for the granulocyte decay. There was no difference in the lysozyme content of granulocytes from patients and controls. Patients with increased plasma lysozyme levels suffered from a more active disease and had larger numbers of circulating granulocytes in their blood than those with normal plasma lysozyme levels. The plasma lysozyme levels correlated well with the cobalophilin levels, in patients with increased levels even more markedly than in those with normal levels. The results suggest that in patients with Crohn's disease increased plasma lysozyme levels are due to an increase in granulocyte decay.