Update on current applications of proteomic in the study of inflammatory bowel disease.

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are relapsing and remitting chronic disorders. So far, endoscopy is the gold standard for their diagnosis, but less invasive diagnostic biomarkers are needed. Many authors have developed techniques to individuate biomarkers such as genetic testing factor or proteins in biological samples such as serum, plasma, and cellular subpopulations. A protein fingerprint pattern, patient-unique, specific for the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and potentially able to predict the future patterns of disease and to help in diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis is of increasing interest among researchers. Nowadays, a proteomic approach may be used in the identification of major alterations of proteins in IBD, but there is still a lack in the identification of a panel of biomarkers among a significant number of patients in large clinical trials. In this review, we analyze and report the current knowledge in proteomic application and strategies in the study of IBD.