Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that increases at an alarming rate worldwide. Accurate biomarkers that reflect the relative contribution of molecular mechanisms in the identification of UC patients are still not known. The micro RNA-29 (miRNA-29) family has been implicated in cardiovascular and fibrotic diseases like UC. Dipeptidyl-peptidase 4 (DPP4) also is a multifunction enzyme that plays a role in immune cell functions. DPP4 was the target gene of miRNA-29a. So, in the present study, we investigated the expression of miRNA-29a in intestinal tissue and serum DPP4 levels in UC patients and healthy subjects.

Blood samples and colonic punch biopsy were obtained from 35 UC patients, and 29 healthy subjects as the control group for the present study. Diagnosis of UC was determined according to its clinical and histological criteria. In each subject, three punch biopsies were obtained from descending colon or sigmoid. In the UC patients, colonoscopy punch biopsies were collected from inflamed mucosa.

DPP4 was determined by ELISA in serum of UC patients and control subjects and showed significantly lower in UC patients (mean = 2.52 ± 0.09 ng/ml) compare with healthy controls (mean = 2.93 ± 0.16 ng/ml) (P-value = 0.032).

Our findings demonstrated that expression levels of miRNA-29a were higher in patients suffering from UC relative to healthy individuals. We also observed reduced levels of DPP4 in the serum samples of UC patients than in the non-UC group. Our results revealed concurrent evidence of the potential role of microRNA-29 and DPP4 in the pathogenesis of UC.