Concentrations of alpha- and beta-defensins in plasma of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
BACKGROUND
Impaired production/release of defensins, representative endogenous antimicrobial peptides, is associated with the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).


METHODS
Employing in house radioimmunoassay, we examined concentrations of the major forms alpha-defensins, human neutrophil peptides (HNP) 1-3 and human beta-defensin (HBD)-2 in plasma of 55 IBD patients consisting of 29 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 26 with Crohn's disease (CD) and 57 controls.


RESULTS
The circulating HNP 1-3, but not HBD-2, levels in IBD patients were significantly higher than those in controls. Plasma HNP 1-3 concentrations in CD patients significantly correlated with Crohn's disease activity index, peripheral white blood cell counts, serum CRP values and TNF-alpha levels.


CONCLUSIONS
Elevation of circulating alpha-defensins levels is suggestive of their physiopathological roles in IBD. Plasma HNP 1-3 concentrations may be an indicator for CD activity and their association with CRP and TNF-alpha supports a possible association with the inflammatory process.
Yamaguchi
N
N
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Nagasaki, Japan.
Isomoto
H
H
Mukae
H
H
Ishimoto
H
H
Ohnita
K
K
Shikuwa
S
S
Mizuta
Y
Y
Nakazato
M
M
Kohno
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult; D023084:alpha-Defensins / Q000097:blood*; D023083:beta-Defensins / Q000097:blood*
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D023084:alpha-Defensins; D023083:beta-Defensins