Role of Human Beta-Defensin 2 (HBD2) in the Diagnosis and Monitoring Activity of Ulcerative Colitis

Abstract Background Ulcerative colitis is a chronic, relapsing and debilitating condition that have significant impact on quality of life. It is characterised by superficial inflammation limited to the mucosa of the colon. Aim of the Work to evaluate the role of human beta-defensin 2 (HBD2) in the diagnosis and monitoring activity of ulcerative colitis. Patients and Methods This was a Case Control study that was conducted at Internal Medicine and Hepatology Department at Ain Shams University Hospitals. The study was performed on 30 patients who had ulcerative colitis and a group of 30 healthy subjects as a reference range for HBD2 marker. Results The mean age of cases with UC was 29.8 years, while control subjects had a slightly higher mean age of 33.9 years. However, this age difference did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.155). Furthermore, the distribution of males and females in the UC group (50% each) and the control group (53.3% male and 46.7% female) did not show a significant difference (p = 0.796). No significant differences between the studied groups regarding age, sex, smoking and comorbidities. Mean±SD of ulcerative colitis Duration (years) and Motions number / day was 7.0±4.0 and 6.3±1.4 respectively. Pain, Arthralgia and Bloody diarrhea were the most frequent presentation (100.0%, 60.0% and 60.0% respectively). Conclusion Based on these findings, it can be concluded that HBD2 is a valuable marker for the diagnosis and monitoring of UC, showing superior diagnostic performance compared to fecal calprotectin.