Calprotectin Fecal

which binds substances such as calcium and zinc. In the organism it is found almost everywhere, but it is mainly present inside the neutrophilic granulocytes, monocytes and macrophages. While carrying out their defensive functions, these cells are able to trigger the inflammatory response towards dangerous foreign agents.
The normal function of calprotectin is, therefore, to counteract the development of bacteria and fungi inside the body (antimicrobial activity).

In the presence of an "inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract, the white blood cells migrate to it and release the protein, the concentration of which in the stool increases accordingly.
For this reason, calprotectin can be used as an indicator of inflammation in cases of chronic intestinal diseases, some infections of bacterial origin or cancers of the digestive system.

The fecal dosage of calprotectin is the only test that can provide information on the location of the inflammation. The determination of the parameter in the plasma, on the other hand, highlights an inflammatory state that can be localized anywhere. Furthermore, in patients with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease), the dosage of fecal calprotectin is a valid index of the degree of inflammation.

; present in all parts of the human body, it is concentrated mainly in the cytoplasm of neutrophilic granulocytes.
In lower concentrations, calprotectin is also present in monocytes and in the macrophages that derive from them; these cells, similar to neutrophils, are white blood cells designed to phagocytize - therefore to englobe, digest and destroy - foreign particles that have penetrated into the organism, including microorganisms (towards which neutrophils are more active).

Both neutrophils and macrophages have the ability to secrete chemical mediators of the inflammatory response.
Within these immune cells, calprotectin exhibits high bacteriostatic and mycostatic activity; as such, it effectively counteracts the growth of fungi and bacteria.

and macrophages in inflamed tissues, calprotectin can be used as an indirect marker of inflammation. In fact, as explained above, the levels of calprotectin in the plasma tend to increase in a non-specific way in correspondence with inflammatory phenomena. Similarly, in intestinal inflammatory diseases, the concentration of calprotectin in the faeces rises significantly compared to the norm.