Proteomic biomarkers in short bowel syndrome : are we ready to use them in clinical activity?

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a clinical condition that can affect childhood and adult patients. Biomarker research is expected to be a new frontier in the clinical application, helpful for patients and health-care systems.

Areas covered: SBS is usually a consequence of a massive intestinal resection that leads to an intestinal failure because of the reduction of absorptive surface, bacterial overgrowth, and faster intestinal transit. This new condition requires a multidisciplinary expertise to achieve again digestive autonomy. Parental nutrition (PN) supports nutritional status in SBS patients while the new guidelines on intestinal transplantation confirm its strict indication only for patients at actual risk of death on PN. A PubMed literature review from the 1980s up to date was performed, highlighting proteomic biomarkers and growth factor therapies that have shown so far promising results in SBS patients.

Expert opinion: Apart from a few specific biomarkers and growth factors, the discovery of specific molecular events is currently under investigation of the proteomic analysis and could potentially represent fundamental, future changes in prevention, diagnosis, therapeutic management, and experimental practices in SBS.

KEYWORDS:

• Intestinal resection
• short bowel syndrome
• intestinal failure
• intestinal transplantation
• proteomic biomarkers

Article highlights

• SBS is a critical pathological condition still affected by high morbidity and mortality.

• New diagnostic tools and therapeutic instruments are required to improve outcomes.

• Proteomic research has already come into SBS clinical reality.

• SBS diagnostic proteomic management is still in its developing infancy.

• SBS therapeutic proteomic strategies have indeed obtained relevant clinical results, especially with the use of Teduglutide.

Declaration of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author disclosures

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.