부산대학교 도서관

BACKGROUND: Measles virus is implicated in the aetiology of Crohnʼs disease. This measles hypothesis is mainly supported by immunohistochemical findings that the measles related antigen is present in the intestine of patients with Crohnʼs disease. Recently we isolated this antigen from the intestine of a patient with Crohnʼs disease using a molecular cloning technique and produced the monoclonal antibody against it (designated 4F12). AIM: To discover whether the measles related antigen is uniquely present in Crohnʼs disease. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Colonic mucosa samples from 20 patients with Crohnʼs disease, 20 with ulcerative colitis, 11 with non-inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) colitis, and nine controls were immunohistochemically stained with the anti-measles monoclonal antibody 4F12. The numbers of positive cells, the ratio of positive cells to nucleated cells, and the staining intensity of the positive cells were compared. Furthermore, the distribution of the measles antigen in other human organs was examined. RESULTS: Both the number of positive cells and the ratio of positive cells to nucleated cells were significantly increased in Crohnʼs disease, ulcerative colitis, and non-IBD colitis compared with controls (p<0.05) but were similar among the three disease groups. The staining intensity of the positive cells was also similar among the three disease groups. Small numbers of positive cells were observed in the oesophagus, stomach, duodenum, jejunum, and lung. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of the measles related antigen in the colonic mucosa was not unique to Crohnʼs disease. These results, together with the observation that such a measles related antigen was derived from host protein, do not support the hypothesis that measles virus causes Crohnʼs disease.