Human Neutrophil Peptide (HNP 1-3) levels and relationships with disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease which has unclear etiology characterized by inflammation and deformities in joints, indicating extraarticular manifestations. Various cellular and molecular immunological members are involved in the pathophysiological mechanisms of the disease. Recent trials showed that alpha defensins were released from neutrophils and neutrophils had a major role in the pathogenesis of RA. In this context, we aimed to investigate the serum levels of alpha defensins patients with RA. We also aimed to investigate the association between HNP 1-3 levels and disease activity, functional status, radiological damage and other laboratory parameters such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP), in this study. Material and method: 42 RA patients who had applied to the outpatient clinics of Dicle University Faculty of Medicine, and 38 healthy controls were included in the study. Physicalexamination was performedin all patients. Swollen and tender joints of RA patients were noted after examination; Disease activity were measured with DAS28 and VAS. In the laboratory assessment, complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, CRP, alpha-defensins (human neutrophil proteins HNP 1-3) were measured. Results: SerumHNP 1-3 levelswere significantlyhigherin patients who had disease activity compared withpatientsin remission. The correlations between HNP 1-3 and HAQ, the total NHP, NHP pain, NHP physical activity, NHP sleep, level of white blood cells (WBC) were determined. It was determined that there was no significant difference between the patients with rheumatoid arthritis and control group in terms of the mean serum levels of alpha-defensin. Conclusion: In our study, we determined the correlations between HNP 1-3 and HAQ, the total NHP, NHP pain, NHP physical activity, NHP sleep, level of WBC (white blood cells ) and HNP 1-3 levelswere higherin patients who had diseaseactivity compared withpatientsin remission.In this contextHNP1-3levels may beuseful in theassessmentof disease activityandremission. The etiology and pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis is very curious and is not not still clear. For understanding the pathogenetic mechanisms of the disease randomized studies with greater sample sizes are required for assessing both HNP 1-3 and the other immunological markers.