Circulating adhesion molecules and severity of coronary atherosclerosis

Background Circulating leukocytes are recruited at atherosclerotic sites th rough a family of adhesion molecules, Circulating forms of adhesion molecul es in peripheral blood can be quantified now. Objective To evaluate the relationship between circulating adhesion molecul es and severity of coronary atherosclerosis. Methods Subjects included 81 patients undergoing diagnostic coronary angiog raphy, 12 of whom had normal coronary arteries (control group). The remaini ng 69 patients with demonstrable coronary atherosclerosis were divided into two groups by use of Gensini scores, namely mild atherosclerosis (n = 36, Gensini score 1-20) and severe atherosclerosis (n = 33, Gensini score >20). Serum levels of circulating intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), va scular cellular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), and E-selectin of groups meas ured before angiography were compared. Results Circulating levels of ICAM-1 in members of mild and severe atherosc lerosis groups were significantly higher than those in members of the contr ol group, whereas there was no significant difference among circulating lev els of VCAM-1 in members of the three groups. Circulating levels of E-selec tin in members of the mild atherosclerosis group were significantly higher than those in members of the severe atherosclerosis and control groups. Conclusions These findings suggest that E-selectin is related to the early stage, and ICAM-1 is related to the advanced stage, of coronary atheroscler osis. With progression of atherosclerosis, one-step adhesion by ICAM-1 coul d become more important than multistep adhesion involving E-selectin, ICAM- 1, and VCAM-1. These molecules may serve as markers for severity of coronar y atherosclerosis, Coronary Artery Dis 11:77-81 (C) 2000 Lippincott William s & Wilkins.