Soluble E-selectin in essential hypertension: A correlate of vascular structural changes

Background: Increased expression of the endothelial leukocyte adhesion mole cule E-selectin is implicated in vascular disease and may accompany the dev elopment of hypertension. We evaluated plasma soluble (s) E-selectin to ass ess its relationship with endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent vasodilation in patients with hypertension. Methods: Thirty-one previously untreated and uncomplicated essential hypert ensive patients were compared with 16 normotensive controls for changes in forearm blood flow (by strain-gauge plethysmography) in response to brachia l artery infusion of the endothelium-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine, a nd of the endothelium-independent vasodilator sodium nitroprusside. As an i ndex of structural changes, minimal forearm vascular resistances were calcu lated as the ratio between maximal vasodilation after 13 min of ischemia an d mean blood pressure. Results: Responses to acetylcholine were significantly lower and minimal fo rearm vascular resistances higher in hypertensives versus controls, whereas responses to nitro-prusside were comparable. Baseline sE-selectin concentr ations were (mean +/- SEM) 37.4 +/- 1.8 ng/mL in hypertensives and 27.8 +/- 0.7 ng/mL in normotensives (P < .001). In essential hypertensive patients, a significant (P < .01) correlation with the response to nitroprusside (r = -0.47) was found, but not with the response to acetylcholine or minimal f orearm vascular resistances. sE-selectin was also positively correlated wit h age and LDL cholesterol. At multivariate analysis, sE-selectin remained s ignificantly correlated with nitroprusside responses and LDL cholesterol. Conclusions: In patients with essential hypertension, plasma levels of sE-s electin are higher than in normotensive controls and mostly related to stru ctural vascular changes. (C) 2001 American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd.