Intestinal tissue kallikrein-kallistatin profile in inflammatory bowel disease.

The profile of tissue kallikrein (TK) and its inhibitor, kallistatin was evaluated in patients with active ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). Tissue kallikrein is mainly localized to goblet cells and kallistatin to epithelial cells of human intestine. Intestinal tissue kallikrein (ITK) and kallistatin are significantly decreased in inflamed intestine compared to noninflammatory controls. TK mRNA as well as kallistatin mRNA is significantly decreased in intestinal biopsy samples from UC-active patients compared with controls. The difference in distribution and levels of ITK and kallistatin in protein and mRNA in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) compared to controls suggest a role in inflammatory state.