Increased α-defensin-1 expression in Korean patients with Behcet's disease

Abstract

Objectives The aim of this study is to measure α-defensin-1 expression in the peripheral blood of patients with Behçet's disease (BD) and healthy control (HC) and to assess the association between α-defensin-1 expression and clinical features of BD. Methods Our patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of the international BD study group. ELISA and real-time PCR were performed to measure α-defensin-1 protein level in the sera and α-defensin-1 mRNA level in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), respectively. Results The α-defensin-1 mRNA expression was significantly higher in BD patients ( n = 59) than HC ( n = 34) (0.49 ± 0.10 vs. 0.19 ± 0.45, P = 0.03). The level of α-defensin-1 mRNA and protein was significantly higher in active patients than inactive patients ( n = 15, 0.91 ± 0.28 vs. n = 44, 0.35 ± 0.09, P < 0.001 and n = 21, 7.50 ± 2.14 ng/ml vs. n = 50, 3.32 ± 0.96 ng/ml, P = 0.001, respectively). The level of α-defensin-1 mRNA was significant higher in patients with arthritis ( n = 20) than those without arthritis ( n = 39). Conclusion α-defensin-1 mRNA and protein levels are significantly increased in BD patients, especially in active BD patients. Furthermore, α-defensin-1 mRNA is over-expressed in the PBMC of BD patients with arthritis. The present study suggests that α-defensin-1 may be involved in the pathogenesis of BD and can be used as valuable biologic marker for estimation of disease activity in BD.