L’OSSERVATORIO   

La Rivista Italiana della Medicina di Laboratorio 2021 Marzo;17(1):7-9

DOI: 10.23736/S1825-859X.21.00089-X

Copyright © 2021 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Serum calprotectin: emerging marker in rheumatoid arthritis

Maria INFANTINO ✉, Mariangela MANFREDI

Laboratorio di Immunoallergologia, Ospedale San Giovanni di Dio, Firenze, Italia

Recent studies have well investigated serum calprotectin as a promising marker of inflammation and responsiveness to biological therapies; the molecule is involved in the recruitment of inflammatory cells by interaction with endothelial cells and directly reflects the leukocyte counts in the inflamed joints rather than systemic inflammatory activity. Compared to acute phase reactants (CRP or ESR), serum calprotectin displays a more prompt and more marked response to inflammatory changes, thus representing a sensitive biomarker for assessing treatment responses. There is growing evidence that levels of serum calprotectin are related to clinical, laboratory and ultrasound parameters of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Circulating calprotectin levels are elevated in active RA and fall when therapy is effective and may predict future erosive damage. Laboratory studies on standardization of circulating calprotectin testing are needed due to variables such as matrix, reference values and decision cutoffs.

KEY WORDS: Serum; Arthritis, rheumatoid; Biomarkers