ABCC7/CFTR Expression Is Associated with the Clinical Course of Ulcerative Colitis Patients

Inflammatory bowel disease includes ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) of unknown etiology. The expression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family proteins has been associated with drug resistance and development of UC. The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) or also known as ABCC7 is involved in the inflammatory chronic response. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of ABCC7/CFTR in UC patients and normal controls without inflammation. This is an exploratory, observational, and cross-sectional study that included a total of 62 patients with UC and normal controls. Gene expression of CFTR was measured by RT-PCR, and protein expression of CFTR was determined by western blot analysis. We found a significant downregulation of the CFTR gene expression in patients with active UC compared to normal controls without inflammation (P < 0.004); even the gene expression of CFTR was decreased in remission UC patients compared to normal controls without inflammation (P = 0.04). The CFTR gene expression was associated with the clinical course of UC and the protein expression of CFTR was decreased in active UC patients compared to normal controls without inflammation suggesting that this molecule might play a role in the inflammation in UC patients.