Expression of RIPK3 among a cohort of Bulgarian patients with inflammatory bowel diseases

Aim: The aim of the present study was to determine the expression level of receptor-interacting protein kinase 3 (RIPK3) in endoscopically altered areas (intestinal biopsy) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).Materials and Methods: Covered were 170 patients with IBD, 85 with Crohn's disease (CD), 85 with ulcerative colitis (UC), and a control group of 30 patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders. In all, nuclear expression of RIPK3 in intestinal biopsies (H-score) was immunohistochemically examined. Statistical processing of the results was performed via SPSS v. 20.0 using variation, variance, comparative, correlation, ROC curve analyses.Results: In patients with IBD, overexpression of RIPK3 (180.3) was observed in inflamed tissues compared to controls. There was a significant difference in the mean values of RIPK3 expression between patients with CD, UC, and healthy controls. RIPK3 thresholds have been established to distinguish patients with IBD from healthy controls (163.5) and to distinguish patients with CD and UC (185.5). The positive predictive value of the high expression of the marker for the presence of IBD was established—92.9%.Conclusion: RIPK3 expression levels are increased in inflamed tissues in patients with IBD compared to controls. Further research is needed in this area to clarify the role of necroptosis in the development of IBD, which would provide new opportunities for the prediction and treatment of these diseases