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. 2005 Aug 21;11(31):4782-7.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i31.4782.

High concentrations of human beta-defensin 2 in gastric juice of patients with Helicobacter pylori infection

Hajime Isomoto  1 , Hiroshi Mukae, Hiroshi Ishimoto, Yoshito Nishi, Chun-Yang Wen, Akihiro Wada, Ken Ohnita, Toshiya Hirayama, Masamitsu Nakazato, Shigeru Kohno
Affiliations

High concentrations of human beta-defensin 2 in gastric juice of patients with Helicobacter pylori infection

Hajime Isomoto et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Aim: Human beta-defensin (HBD)-1 and HBD-2 are endogenous antimicrobial peptides. Unlike HBD-1, the HBD-2 expression is augmented by Helicobacter pylori (H pylori). We sought to determine HBD-1 and HBD-2 concentrations in gastric juice during H pylori infection.

Methods: HBD-1 and HBD-2 concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay in plasma and gastric juice of 49 H pylori-infected and 33 uninfected subjects and before and after anti-H pylori treatment in 13 patients with H pylori-associated gastritis. Interleukin (IL)-1beta and IL-8 concentrations in gastric juice were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Histological grades of gastritis were determined using two biopsy specimens taken from the antrum and corpus. Reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was used to identify HBD-2.

Results: HBD-2 concentrations in gastric juice, but not in plasma, were significantly higher in H pylori-positive than -negative subjects, albeit the post-treatment levels were unchanged. Immunoreactivity for HBD-2 was exclusively identified in H pylori-infected mucosa by RP-HPLC. HBD-2 concentrations in gastric juice correlated with histological degree of neutrophil and mononuclear cell infiltration in the corpus. IL-1beta levels correlated with those of IL-8, but not HBD-2. Plasma and gastric juice HBD-1 concentrations were similar in H pylori-infected and uninfected subjects.

Conclusion: Our results place the beta-defensins, especially HBD-2, in the front line of innate immune defence. Moreover, HBD-2 may be involved in the pathogenesis of H pylori-associated gastritis, possibly through its function as immune and inflammatory mediator.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Representative RP-HPLC profiles of the HBD-2 molecules in H pylori-infected gastric mucosa.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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