Evaluation of hepatocyte growth factor as a local acute phase response marker in the bowel: The clinical impact of a rapid diagnostic test for immediate identification of acute bowel inflammation

Background: There are no rapid tests that can distinguish contagious gastroenteritis, which requires isolation at its onset, from exacerbation of chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or bowel engagement in the course of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is an acute phase cytokine that is produced at the site of injury. It has high affinity to sulfated glycan, and this binding affinity is lost during chronic inflammation. The fecal pH strongly impacts the prognosis for severe bowel disease. We developed a strip test to evaluate HGF as a local acute phase response marker in the bowel. This test assessed the binding affinity of HGF to sulfated glycans in fecal samples and determined fecal pH as an indicator of illness severity. Methods: Fresh feces from patients with diarrhea (n= 513) were collected and tested blindly, and information about patient illness course and outcome was collected. Patients were classified based on the focus of inflammation and the cause of the symptoms. Objectively verified diagnoses of infectious gastroenteritis (n= 131) and IBD onset/exacerbation and bowel cancer (n= 44) were used to estimate the performance of the test strip. ELISA was performed on 101 freeze-thawed feces samples to determine the fecal HGF levels. Results: The test rapidly distinguished infectious gastroenteritis from non-infectious inflammatory causes of diarrhea (sensitivity, 87.96%; specificity, 90.9%; positive predictive value, 96.6%; negative predictive value, 71.4%; accuracy, 89.1%). Fecal pH (p<. 0.0001) and mortality within 28. days of sampling (p<. 0.04) was higher in patients with sepsis/SIRS and diarrhea. The concentration of HGF was higher in strip test-positive stool samples (p<. 0.01). Conclusions: HGF is a good local acute phase response marker of acute bowel inflammation. Test-strip determination of the binding affinity of fecal HGF to sulfated glycan was a rapid, equipment-free way to assess patients with diarrhea and to guide the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches on admission. © 2014 The Authors.