Serum aminoterminal propeptide of type III procollagen (S-PIIINP) and hepatobiliary dysfunction in patients with ulcerative colitis.

The aim of the study was to estimate the usefulness of measuring the circulating concentration of serum aminoterminal propeptide of type III collagen (S-PIIINP) in screening for hepatobiliary diseases in patients with ulcerative colitis. S-PIIINP was measured in 69 patients with ulcerative colitis and normal liver biochemistry, in 14 patients with ulcerative colitis and elevated catalytic concentration of alkaline phosphatases in serum (S-ALP, EC 3.1.3.1) but without primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), and in 20 patients with ulcerative colitis and PSC. The median S-PIIINP was 3.1 micrograms l-1 in patients with ulcerative colitis and normal liver biochemistry, 4.3 micrograms l-1 in patients with ulcerative colitis and hepatobiliary disorder other than PSC and 8.9 micrograms l-1 in those with ulcerative colitis and PSC. When the S-PIIINP cut-off level was set at 5.0 micrograms l-1, 1% of the patients with ulcerative colitis and normal liver biochemistry, 21% of those with hepatobiliary disorder, not PSC, and 90% of the patients with PSC had S-PIIINP values above that concentration. In conclusion, S-PIIINP above 5.0 micrograms l-1 in a patient with ulcerative colitis strongly suggests concomitant PSC.