DEFA5 and inflammatory bowel disease: To address IBD diagnostic challenges in clinical settings, we identified human alpha-defensin 5 (DEFA5, also abbreviated as HD5) restricted to areas of the colonic mucosa with aberrant expression of apparent crypt cell-like cells (CCLCs), which identifies an area of ectopic colonic ileal metaplasia that correlates with and is consistent with the diagnosis of CC [7, 8].