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

Objective: To examine the role of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1), and soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin) in the pathogenesis of Wegenerʹs granulomatosis (WG) and the values of measuring serum levels of these soluble adhesion molecules for monitoring disease activity during follow-up, a total of 24 serum samples from 16 patients with WG were studied. Methods: The serum concentrations of soluble adhesion molecules (sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and sE-selectin) and cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6)) of patients with WG were measured by ELISA. Results: The serum levels of sICAM-1 were significantly elevated in active WG and correlated with disease activity. At the time of relapse, a significant increase of sICAM-1 was also observed. The serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were also significantly 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 additional parameter of disease activity.