Assessment of angiopoietin-1, angiopoietin-2, Tie-2, EphrinB2, EphB4, and endocan serum level in patients with Behçet disease: A cross-sectional observational study

Behçet disease (BD) is an inflammatory disorder with significant ocular involvement. Angiopoietins regulate vascular stability, while EphrinB2/EphB4 interactions are essential for retinal neovascularization and endothelial behavior. Endocan, a marker of endothelial activation, contributes to inflammatory processes by mediating leukocyte migration. This cross-sectional study investigates the role of angiopoietins, EphrinB2/EphB4 signaling, and endocan in the development of active uveitis in BD patients. We recruited 29 BD patients with active eye involvement (group 1), 31 BD patients without eye involvement (group 2), and 30 healthy controls (group 3). Serum tyrosine protein kinase receptor (Tie-2), angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1), angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), EphrinB2, EphB4, and endocan levels were determined by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. A statistically significant difference was found between the Ang-1, Ang-2, Tie-2, EphrinB2, EphB4, and endocan levels of the 3 different groups in the study (P < .05). Between the patients with panuveitis and patients with only posterior or anterior uveitis, serum Ang-1 (P < .001), Tie-2 (P < .001), EphrinB2 (P < .001), EphB4 (P = .001), and endocan (P = .002) levels had statistically significant differences. The highest and significant correlation was found between EphrinB2 and EphB4 (r = 0.931, P < .001). This was followed by a high level of significant correlation between Ang-1 and Ang-2 (r = -0.845, P < .001). In the group with active uveitis, EphB4 (r = -0.774), Ang-2 (r = -0.763), and Tie-2 (r = -0.701) were negatively and highly significantly correlated with best corrected visual acuity (P < .001). Ang-1, Ang-2, Tie-2, EphrinB2, EphB4, and endocan regulate vascular stability, retinal neovascularization, and inflammation, potentially contributing to BD-associated uveitis. These findings could have important implications for the diagnosis and management of ocular involvement of BD.