FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Identification of Circulating Biomarkers in Patients with Active Inflammatory Bowel Disease

A recent publication in volume 21 issue 3 of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, entitled “Overexpression of miR-595 and miR1246 in the Sera of Patients with Active Forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease”, demonstrates Ocean Ridge Biosciences’ (ORB) profiling capabilities to identify circulating biomarkers. This study revealed that microRNAs miR-595 and miR-1246 circulating in serum can distinguish patients with active inflammatory bowel disease from those with inactive disease, and from healthy subjects. The microRNAs could be included in a diagnostic reagent panel to non-invasively measure disease activity in patients, and monitor their response to treatment, or be employed as targets for therapeutic intervention. During the last century, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Chron’s disease (CD) emerged with dramatically increasing incident rates, and despite extensive research the etiology of IBS remains unknown. This publication by Dr. Geoff Krissansen and co-workers in the departments of Molecular Medicine and Pathology and Medicine Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences in the University of Auckland presents evidence miR-595 and miR-1246 might be associated with IBD pathogenesis as they distinguish active versus inactive disease.