Immunological studies in ulcerative colitis. VIII. Antibodies to colon antigen in patients with ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and other diseases.

Sera from patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease had elevated titers to colon antigen from germ-free rats significantly more often than sera from patients with gastroenteritis, irritable colon, non-gastrointestinal diseases, and healthy controls. Elevated anticolon titers in significant frequency were also found in patients with liver cirrhosis, urinary tract infections, and in polyposis coli and their relatives. Females with ulcerative colitis had, on an average, higher titers than men especially in the age group 30 years and over. In Crohn's disease the antibody titers often increased with time--as opposed to those in ulcerative colitis and non-gastrointestinal diseases. In conjunction with results published earlier, the present work supports the assumption that the antibodies in ulcerative colitis patients react with antigenic determinants distinct from those recognized by the colon antibodies present in other groups, including patients with Crohn's disease and polyposis.