ELEVATED PLASMA-LEVELS OF VASCULAR CELL-ADHESION MOLECULE-1 (VCAM-1) IN DIABETIC-PATIENTS WITH MICROALBUMINURIA - A MARKER OF VASCULAR DYSFUNCTION AND PROGRESSIVE VASCULAR-DISEASE

Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs), which accumulate in diabetic va sculature, result in enhanced expression of endothelial cell-associate d vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) as well release of a solu ble form of VCAM-1 (sVCAM-1) into culture supernatants. We hypothesize d that sVCAM-1 in diabetic plasma might reflect early vascular perturb ation in diabetic vasculopathy. Diabetic patients with microalbuminuri a, a group with a high incidence of vascular complications, had increa sed plasma levels of sVCAM-1, similar to 1.5-fold greater than diabeti c patients without microalbuminuria: P<0.05. sVCAM-1 map be an indicat or of ongoing cellular dysfunction in diabetes, as well as a dynamic s urrogate marker for the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions.