Sustained infection and chronic inflammation are the most common features and complex mechanisms of diabetic foot disease. In this study, we examined the expression and functional roles of human endogenous α defensins in diabetic foot ulcer. The expression levels of human α defensins HNP1, HNP3, and HNP4 were significantly higher in the wound center than the edge of diabetic foot ulcers. And the inflammatory cytokine interleukin IL-8 (IL-8) was also highly expressed in wound exudates. In human foreskin fibroblasts, these human α defensins were found only slightly to affect IL-8 expression directly. hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) is the main clinical indicator of diabetic foot disease. Advanced glycation end products of bovine serum albumin (AGE-BSA), as HbA1c analogue, was found to promote IL-8 expression. Human α defensins, in the presence of AGE-BSA, further significantly promoted IL-8 expression. These findings showed that human α defensins aggravated the inflammatory response in diabetic foot ulcers patients, providing new insights in to the poor healing of diabetic foot ulcers.
Keywords: advanced glycation end products; diabetic foot ulcer; human α defensins; interleukin-8; synergistic effect.
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