A mechanistic explanation might be that mucosal VCAM-1 adheres to monocyte-expressed α4β7 integrin and directs in vivo gut homing.47 This facilitates recruitment of subtypes of macrophages that have been identified as important in restitution and repair in IBD, and hence, soluble markers such as sVCAM and MIP-1α are of interest.30 In the future, this may minimize and avoid invasive procedures to monitor response to therapy and assess MH. Here, CCL3 is linked to inflammatory bowel disease.