Introduction: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a common cutaneous disease caused by mast-cell degranulation. Human β-defensin 2 (HBD2) is a well-known antimicrobial peptide that is also a pruritogen inducing vascular permeability via non-IgE-mediated mast-cell degranulation. Objective: We investigated the associations between serum HBD2 levels and the clinical characteristics of CSU patients. Methods: Serum samples from 124 CSU patients and 56 healthy controls were screened for the levels of HBD2 and translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP)_ by using ELISA. The urticaria activity score over 7 days (UAS7) was used to measure disease activity in CSU patients. Accompanying angioedema was self-reported. Results: Serum HBD2 levels were higher in the CSU group than in healthy subjects (median [interquartile range], 84.1 [43.5, 142.5] vs. 59.5 [26.7, 121.5], p = 0.034). In CSU patients, serum HBD2 level was negatively correlated with the peripheral basophil percentages (Spearman’s rho = −0.229, p = 0.01) and vitamin D levels (−0.262, p = 0.02), but positively correlated with TCTP levels (0.252, p = 0.006). In CSU patients, HBD2 level was higher in those with than without angioedema (101.7 [50.9, 184.2] vs. 66.7 [37.9, 132.0], p = 0.019). It did not differ by aspirin hypersensitivity or atopy status, or autologous serum skin test positivity. Conclusion: A known mast-cell degranulator, HBD2 was elevated in the sera from CSU patients compared to healthy controls and may be involved in the pathogenesis of accompanying angioedema.
Int Arch Allergy Immunol

中文翻译：

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伴随慢性自发性荨麻疹的血管性水肿中血清人 β-防御素 2 增加

简介：慢性自发性荨麻疹（CSU）是一种常见的由肥大细胞脱颗粒引起的皮肤病。人 β-防御素 2 (HBD2) 是一种众所周知的抗菌肽，它也是一种通过非 IgE 介导的肥大细胞脱颗粒诱导血管通透性的瘙痒原。目的：我们调查了血清 HBD2 水平与 CSU 患者临床特征之间的关联。方法：使用ELISA对来自124名CSU患者和56名健康对照者的血清样品的HBD2和翻译控制的肿瘤蛋白（TCTP）的水平进行筛选。超过 7 天的荨麻疹活动评分 (UAS7) 用于衡量 CSU 患者的疾病活动。伴随的血管性水肿是自我报告的。结果：CSU 组的血清 HBD2 水平高于健康受试者（中位数 [四分位距]，84.1 [43.5, 142.5] vs. 59.5 [26.7, 121.5]，p = 0.034）。在 CSU 患者中，血清 HBD2 水平与外周嗜碱性粒细胞百分比（Spearman's rho = -0.229，p = 0.01）和维生素 D 水平（-0.262，p = 0.02）呈负相关，但与 TCTP 水平呈正相关（0.252，p = 0.006）。在 CSU 患者中，有血管性水肿的患者的 HBD2 水平高于无血管性水肿的患者（101.7 [50.9, 184.2] vs. 66.7 [37.9, 132.0]，p = 0.019）。它没有因阿司匹林超敏反应或特应性状态或自体血清皮肤试验阳性而有所不同。结论：作为一种已知的肥大细胞脱颗粒剂，与健康对照相比，CSU 患者的血清中 HBD2 升高，并且可能参与伴随血管性水肿的发病机制。
Int Arch 过敏免疫