title: Association between Genetic Polymorphisms in DEFB1 and Susceptibility to Digestive Diseases.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Aberrant expression of defensins is implicated in the pathogenesis of digestive diseases. However, the contribution of specific defensins and the influence of their genetic polymorphisms on the progression of digestive diseases remain controversial. In the present meta-analysis, we investigated the association between DEFB1 SNPs and the susceptibility to digestive diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control studies that reported the correlation between DEFB1 SNPs and the susceptibility to digestive diseases were identified through electronic databases searches, and high-quality studies that satisfied our inclusion criteria were selected for this meta-analysis. Statistical analyses were performed utilizing STATA software version 12.0.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The present meta-analysis revealed that patients with digestive diseases exhibited higher frequencies of the DEFB1 genetic variants rs11362G>A, rs1800972C>G, and rs1799946G>A compared to healthy controls under the allele model. Subgroup analysis based on country showed that the rs1800972C>G variant under allele model and rs1799946G>A are associated with the susceptibility to digestive diseases in Hungarian and Italian populations, respectively. Subgroup analysis based on disease type showed that: (1) rs11362G>A variant was strongly associated with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) and chronic gastritis, (2) frequency of rs1800972C>G variant was higher in SAP subgroup, and (3) frequency of rs1799946G>A variant was positively associated with the susceptibility to Crohn's disease (CD) under the allele model and with SAP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our meta-analysis provides evidence that DEFB1 genetic polymorphisms rs11362G>A, rs1800972C>G and rs1799946G>A are important contributing factors to the development of digestive diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Yin-Peng
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Tian-Yi
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Hong-Zhi
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004066:Digestive System Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D023083:beta-Defensins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C406407:DEFB1 protein, human; D023083:beta-Defensins