Investigation of NLRP3, GSDMD, IL-1β and IL-18 expression in pediatric Crohn's disease with perianal lesions

Introduction : Crohn's disease(CD) is a complex inflammatory disease with perianal lesions as one of its serious complications. Pyroptosis is an inflammatory form of programmed cell death, and the role of pyroptosis in CD intestinal epithelial cells is unknown. Methods : Between September 2022 and August 2024, we selected 60 children with a primary diagnosis of Crohn's disease from the Department of Gastroenterology at the Children's Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University as the case group, and divided them into a group with perianal lesions (PCD group) and a group without perianal lesions (Non-PCD group). Additionally, 40 children diagnosed with simple juvenile intestinal polyps during the same period were selected as the control group. All subjects underwent immunohistochemistry (IHC) to quantitatively and locally detect the expression of NLRP3, GSDMD, IL-1β, and IL-18 in intestinal mucosal tissue. Result :Clinical samples confirmed that the staining scores for NLRP3, GSDMD, IL-1β, and IL-18 were significantly higher in the PCD group than in the Non-PCD group and the control group. Immunohistochemical localization revealed that NLRP3, GSDMD, IL-1β, and IL-18 were primarily expressed in epithelial cells and immune cells of the intestinal mucosal tissue. Compared with the control group and the non-PCD group, the staining extent and intensity of these markers were significantly increased in the PCD group. Conclusion : Our findings identify NLRP3, GSDMD, IL-1β, and IL-18 as key pyroptosis-associated biomarkers in PCD, contributing to the understanding of pyroptosis in the pathogenesis of PCD.