Abstract:Objective To investigate the role of stromal cell derived factor-1(SDF-1) / CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) axis in the pathological process of ulcerative colitis(UC). Methods Sixty-seven UC patients and 60 health examiner in Huangshi Central Hospital from March 2016 to September 2017 were selected. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect SDF-1 level in peripheral blood. Flow cytometry was used to detect expression of CXCR4+ in CD4⁺ T lymphocyte surface and the proportion of CD4⁺ CXCR4⁺ T lymphocytes with positive expression of CXCR4⁺. Results SDF-1 level [(25.63±4.18)μmol/L vs (7.24±2.36)μmol/L, P<0.05] and the proportion of CD4⁺ CXCR4⁺ T lymphocytes [(9.44±1.62)% vs (2.62±0.51)%, P<0.05] in UC patients were significantly higher than those in control group. SDF-1 level [(28.92±4.64)μmol/L vs(15.16±3.07)μmol/L, P<0.01] and the proportion of CD4⁺ CXCR4⁺ T lymphocytes [(10.45±1.76)% vs (6.23±1.18)%, P<0.01] in UC patients of active stage were significantly higher than those in UC patients of remission stage. There were significant differences in SDF-1 level and the proportion of CD4⁺ CXCR4⁺ T lymphocytes for different endoscopic classification in UC patients of active stage (all P<0.05) which were higher in class Ⅲ patients than those in class Ⅱ patients (P<0.05) and in class Ⅱ patients than those in class Ⅰ patients (P<0.05). Conclusion The activation of SDF-1/CXCR4 axis plays an important role in the pathogenesis of UC, and it is possibly served as a monitoring indicator for the activity of the disease and the severity of the bowel disease.