- Determination of alpha-defensin levels in dynamics in newborns with sepsis
Determination of alpha-defensin levels in dynamics in newborns with sepsis
Modern Pediatrics. Ukraine. (2025).5(149): 27-30. doi: 10.15574/SP.2025.5(149).2730
Kerimova N. T.1,2
1Scientific Research Institute of Pediatrics named after K.Yu. Faradzheva, Baku, Azerbaijan
2Azerbaijan Medical University, Baku
For citation: Kerimova NT. (2025). Determination of alpha-defensin levels in dynamics in newborns with sepsis. Modern Pediatrics. Ukraine. 5(149): 27-30. doi: 10.15574/SP.2025.5(149).2730.
Article received: Jun 20, 2025. Accepted for publication: Sep 10, 2025.
Aim – to investigate some pathogenetic mechanisms of immune system changes during sepsis in premature and full-term infants by determining the levels of alpha-defensin.
Materials and methods. A total of 130 newborns were examined. Of these, 100 were infants undergoing inpatient treatment with a diagnosis of sepsis (early and late), and 30 were healthy newborns. The children participating in the study were divided into the following groups: Group I – full-term newborns diagnosed with sepsis, gestational age 38-41 weeks (n=35); Group II – premature newborns diagnosed with sepsis, gestational age 27-37 weeks (n=65); Control group: healthy newborns (n=30), of which 23 were born full-term and 7 were premature. The determination of alpha-defensin was carried out using a standard solid-phase ("sandwich " version) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The statistical processing of the obtained data was carried out using the Wilkinson U-test.
Results. In full-term infants diagnosed with sepsis, α-defensin in the first days of the disease was 771.8±37.6 ng/ml and was significantly different from the results in the control group (p<0.001). Over time, this indicator decreased as a manifestation of the weakening of the inflammatory process and was 380.0±21.1 ng/ml. Similar dynamics of α-defensin (727.9±27.2 ng/ml and 363.2±14.5 ng/ml, respectively) were observed in premature infants. Statistically significant increase was observed in both early and late sepsis (716.7±53.3 ng/ml and 731.3±31.8 ng/ml, respectively). High values were the result of the manifestation of inflammation in both forms in the first days. With repeated measurements (re-check), this indicator decreased to a greater extent in children with early sepsis; this difference corresponded to the previous indicators (1.487±0.034 EU/ml and 0.987±0.110 EU/ml, respectively)
Conclusions. Based on the results of the study, it can be said that alpha-defensin in full-term and premature septic infants can be used as an additional criterion for characterizing the immune status and inflammatory process in sepsis, predicting outcomes, and assessing the degree of immunodeficiency.
Keywords: full-term infants, premature infants, sepsis, antimicrobial peptides, alpha-defensins.
REFERENCES
1. Agakidou E, Agakidis C, Kontou A, Chotas W, Sarafidis K. (2022). Antimicrobial Peptides in Early-Life Host Defense, Perinatal Infections, and Necrotizing Enterocolitis – An Update. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 11(17): 5074. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11175074; PMid:36079001 PMCid:PMC9457252
2. Albuali WH. (2023). Procalcitonin Biomarker for Sepsis in Postoperative Pediatric Trauma Patients: Three Years of Experience from a Tertiary University Hospital. Curr Pediatrician Rev. 19(3): 296-303. https://doi.org/10.2174/1573396318666220912093557; PMid:36093819
3. Lebedeva OP, Rudykh NA, Polyakova IS. (2010). Antimicrobial peptides-first line anti-infective protection of the female genital tract. Scientific bulletins of BelSU. Medicine series. Pharmacy. 22(12): 25-30.
4. Sharma R, Hudak ML (2013). Clinical perspective of necrotic enterocolitis past, present and future. Clin. Perinatol. 40: 27-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clp.2012.12.012; PMid:23415262 PMCid:PMC3575605
5. Singh M, Alsaleem M, Gray CP. (2022). Neonatal Sepsis. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing 2025 Jan-. [Updated 2022 Sep 29]. URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK531478/.
6. Van Well GTJ, Daalderop LA, Wolfs T, Kramer BW. (2017, Dec). Human perinatal immunity in physiological conditions and during infection. Mol Cell Pediatr. 4(1): 4. Epub 2017 Apr 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40348-017-0070-1; PMid:28432664 PMCid:PMC5400776
7. Vienna ME, Smith JG. (2015). Alpha-defensin HD5 inhibits furin cleavage of human papillomavirus 16 L2 to block infection. J Virol. 89: 2866-2874. https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.02901-14; PMid:25540379 PMCid:PMC4325740
8. Wang L, Zhang Z, Chen X. (2023). Relationship Between the Expression of PD-1 and CTLA-4 on T Lymphocytes and the Severity and Prognosis of Sepsis. Int J Gen Med. 16: 1513-1525. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM
9. Wiesner J, Vilcinskas A. (2010). Antimicrobial peptides: the ancient arm of the human immune system. Virulence. 1(5): 440-464. https://doi.org/10.4161/viru.1.5.12983; PMid:21178486