Changes and clinical significance of serum monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and prostaglandin E₂ levels in children with functional dyspepsia

Objective To investigate the changes and clinical significance of serum monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) levels in children with functional dyspepsia (FD).

Methods A retrospective study was conducted to enroll 89 FD children admitted from October 2022 to October 2023 as FD group, and 91 healthy children in the same period were selected as control group. The FD group was further divided into mild group (n=36), moderate group (n=33), and severe group (n=20) based on the severity of the disease. The serum levels of MCP-1 and PGE₂ were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The severity of the disease was assessed by the Global Overall Symptom Score (GOSS), and gastric emptying was evaluated in all the children. Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses were performed to explore the correlations of serum MCP-1 and PGE₂ levels with gastric half-emptying time and FD symptom scores.

Results The serum MCP-1 level in the FD group was significantly higher than that in the control group, while the PGE₂level was significantly lower (P < 0.05). In the severe group, the serum MCP-1 level was significantly higher while the PGE₂ level was significantly lower than that in the moderate and mild groups, and similar differences were significantly observed between the moderate and mild groups (P < 0.05). The gastric half-emptying time and postprandial 2-hour residual rate were significantly higher in the FD group than the control group (P < 0.05). Serum MCP-1 in FD children was positively correlated with gastric half-emptying time and postprandial 2-hour residual rate (P < 0.05), while serum PGE₂ was negatively correlated with these parameters (P < 0.05). Serum MCP-1 in FD children was significantly positively correlated with upper abdominal burning sensation, early satiety, belching, upper abdominal pain, and the total GOSS score (r=0.611, 0.509, 0.504, 0.491, 0.513; P < 0.05), while PGE2 was significantly negatively correlated with upper abdominal burning sensation, early satiety, belching, upper abdominal pain, acid reflux, and GOSS total score (r=-0.516, -0.561, -0.493, -0.533, -0.497, -0.482; P < 0.05).

Conclusion Elevated serum MCP-1 and decreased PGE₂ levels in children with FD are closely related to the severity of the disease, gastric emptying, and some FD symptoms.