Concentrations of alpha- and beta-defensins in gastric juice of patients with various gastroduodenal diseases.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the concentration of alpha- and beta-defensins in gastric juice of patients with various gastroduodenal diseases.


METHODS
Concentrations of human neutrophil peptides (HNPs) 1-3, the major forms of alpha-defensins, and human beta-defensin (HBD)-1 and HBD-2 were measured by radioimmunoassay in plasma and gastric juice of 84 subjects, consisting of 54 Helicobacter pylori-infected and 30 uninfected subjects. They included 33 patients with chronic gastritis (CG), 12 with gastric ulcer (GU), 11 with duodenal ulcer (DU), 11 with benign gastric polyp (BGP) and 16 with normal mucosa (N group) on upper endoscopy. Plasma pepsinogen I and II levels, biomarkers for gastric mucosal inflammation and atrophy, were also measured.


RESULTS
Gastric juice HNPs 1-3 levels in patients with CG, GU and BGP were significantly higher than those in patients with DU and N. Gastric juice HBD-2 concentrations in patients with CG and GU were significantly higher than those in the N group, but were significantly lower in DU patients than in GU patients. Gastric juice HBD-1 levels and plasma levels of these peptides were similar in the patient groups. Concentrations of gastric juice HNPs 1-3 and HBD-2 of in H pylori-infected patients were significantly different from those in uninfected subjects. HNPs 1-3 concentrations in gastric juice correlated negatively with plasma pepsinogen I levels and I/II ratios. HBD-2 levels in gastric juice correlated positively and negatively with plasma pepsinogen II concentrations and I/II ratios, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
HNPs 1-3 and HBD-2 levels in gastric juice are diverse among various gastrointestinal diseases, reflecting the inflammatory and atrophic events of the background gastric mucosa affected by H pylori.
Nishi
Yoshito
Y
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Japan.
Isomoto
Hajime
H
Mukae
Hiroshi
H
Ishimoto
Hiroshi
H
Wen
Chun-Yang
CY
Wada
Akihiro
A
Ohnita
Ken
K
Mizuta
Yohei
Y
Murata
Ikuo
I
Hirayama
Toshiya
T
Nakazato
Masamitsu
M
Kohno
Shigeru
S
D004378:Duodenal Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D005750:Gastric Juice / Q000378:metabolism*; D005755:Gastrins / Q000097:blood; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000378:metabolism; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006801:Humans; D020116:Pepsinogen A / Q000097:blood; D013272:Stomach Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D023084:alpha-Defensins / Q000378:metabolism*; D023083:beta-Defensins / Q000378:metabolism*
C406407:DEFB1 protein, human; C106641:DEFB4A protein, human; D005755:Gastrins; D023084:alpha-Defensins; D023083:beta-Defensins; C406413:human neutrophil peptide 1; C406416:human neutrophil peptide 2; C406427:human neutrophil peptide 3; D020116:Pepsinogen A