Creative Biolabs is a world-leading service provider of application-specific antibody development. Especially, we offer high-quality in vitro diagnostic (IVD) antibody and diagnostic immunoassay development services targeting a wide range of disease biomarkers. Here, we focus on the fecal calprotectin as a biomarker of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Calprotectin is a 36 kDa, calcium- and zinc-binding protein of the S-100 protein family. It accounts for 60% of cytosolic proteins in neutrophils and it also presents at a lower concentration in monocytes and reactive macrophages. Following activation of leukocytes, calprotectin is released. It can be found throughout the human body mainly in plasma, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, feces, saliva or synovial fluid. Functionally, calprotectin has antibacterial, antifungal, and antiproliferative properties and is involved in many physiological functions including cell apoptosis, tumorigenesis, especially inflammatory process regulation. It induces cell receptor expression that is fecal in the migration, adhesion, and phagocytosis of neutrophils and promotes chemotaxis. When infection or inflammation of the gut mucosa happens, an increase in permeability of the mucose is caused, leading to enhanced migration of granulocytes and monocytes toward chemotactic substances in the bowel. As a result, increased levels of calprotectin will be released following stimuli of the bacterial components in the intestinal lumen.
Fig.1 Schematic representation of calprotectin release in IBD. (Ikhtaire, 2016)
Resulting from neutrophil migration into the gastrointestinal tissue due to an inflammatory process or infection, calprotectin is present in feces. Studies have found that fecal calprotectin concentrations demonstrate a significant correlation with intestinal inflammation and the neutrophil infiltrate in the gut mucosa. Many publications have reported fecal calprotectin as a very sensitive marker for inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Practically, fecal calprotectin is used for the diagnosis, disease activity monitoring, and treatment guidance of IBD. Besides, it is also used for the prediction of disease relapse and postoperative recurrence in IBD.
Moreover, calprotectin remains stable in feces for 1 week at room temperature because it is resistant to colonic bacterial degradation. This feature allows reasonable time for transportation of samples from home to hospital. Moreover, with the development of immunoassays, calprotectin can be measured with various immunochemical-based methods. For instance, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and point-of-care testing (POCT) have been developed commercially for postoperative calprotectin quantification.
With over a decade of experience and expertise, Creative Biolabs is respected as a center of excellence in antibody and immunoassay development for research, clinical, and discover applications. We offer biomarker-specific antibody development, characterization, engineering, and conjugation services. For immunoassay development, we offer services ranging from feasibility analysis, assay design, and assay protocol establishment to assay optimization and kit production. Our extensive range of services is specifically designed to support your research and project. Creative Biolabs offers comprehensive contract development services including:
Please feel free to contact us to discuss how our expertise can lead to your success.
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