New markers in ulcerative colitis.

A new target in the treatment of UC is mucosal healing (MH), which is related to long-term remission, reduced rates of hospitalisation, and colectomy. Despite the advantages in the management of UC over the past few decades, much less has been achieved in the diagnosis and monitoring of the disease where colonoscopy remains the "gold standard" method. Therefore, a non-invasive marker correlating with MH is being sought [14]. Non-invasive markers have the potential to avoid invasive diagnostic tests and inhibit potential complications. Although several noninvasive and easily accessible biomarkers for UC are available, their sensitivity and specificity are not adequate to be used as single markers and do not overrule the need for endoscopic evaluation. Consequently, there is still need for new markers of intestinal inflammation in UC. In the current review Based on a literature search using PubMed, we reviewed eight new potential markers in UC studied mainly in the last five years: trefoil factor 3 (TFF3), leucine-rich Α-2 glycoprotein (LRG), high mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1), soluble ST2 (sST2), B cell-activating factor (BAFF), annexin A1 (ANXA1), matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL).