Serum levels of soluble adhesion molecules ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and E-selectin in patients with Wegener's granulomatosis

Objective: To examine the role of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1). and solubl e E-selectin (sE-selectin) in the pathogenesis of Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) and the values of measuring serum levels of these soluble adhesion mol ecules for monitoring disease activity during follow-up, a total of 24 seru m samples from 16 patients with WG were studied. Methods: The serum concent rations of soluble adhesion molecules (sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and sE-selectin) an d cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL- 6)) of patients with WG were measured by ELISA. Results: The serum levels o f sICAM-1 were significantly elevated in active WG and correlated with dise ase activity. At the time of relapse, a significant increase of sICAM-1 was also observed. The serum levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6 were also significan tly elevated in active WG. Conclusion: These findings suggest that sICAM-1 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of WG and may be used as an add itional parameter of disease activity. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Lt d. All rights reserved.