Characterization of potential salivary biomarkers in Behçet's disease

• Published in: Internal and emergency medicine 2024-10
• Main Authors: Alrashdan, Mohammad S, Alnemri, Diana, Al-Qarqaz, Firas A, Alawneh, Khaldoon M, Al-Rawi, Natheer H, Bouzid, Amal, Al-Omiri, Mahmoud Khaled
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1828-0447; 1970-9366; 1970-9366
• DOI: 10.1007/s11739-024-03801-6

Diagnosis of Behçet's disease (BD) has always been a challenging task due to the heterogeneity and complexity of the disease, while available literature on BD biomarkers is largely inconclusive. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of a panel of salivary biomarkers in a group of BD patients and test their association with BD. The study population comprised 23 BD patients (12 females and 11 males) and a control group of age and gender-matched healthy individuals. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to test the expression of 5 salivary proteins including: interleukin 1β (IL-1β), epidermal growth factor (EGF), endothelin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transferrin (TrF). BD activity was evaluated using the International Society for Behçet's disease (ISBD) current activity form. Salivary endothelin, EGF and VEGF were significantly higher in the BD group compared to controls (16.3 Vs. 7.7 pg/ml, 194.5 Vs. 163.4 pg/ml and 262 Vs. 150.2 pg/ml, p