Serum mannose-binding lectin levels are decreased in behcet's disease and associated with disease severity.

To investigate serum levels of mannose-binding lectin (MBL), a complement-like protein of collectin family, in patients with Behcet's disease (BD). MBL levels were measured in sera of 130 patients with BD, 64 patients with recurrent oral ulcerations (ROU), and 105 healthy controls (HC) with ELISA. Patients with BD had significantly lower median serum MBL levels compared to HC (1857 vs 3136 ng/ml, p = 0.001). No significant difference was observed in median serum MBL levels between BD and ROU (2309 ng/ml, p = 0.252). Low MBL levels (/= 4) was more frequently observed in BD patients with very low serum MBL levels (