Background:
Elevated levels of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (svcam-1) and soluble e-selectin (se-selectin) have previously been reported in patients with various inflammatory diseases, but not in patients with polymyositis/dermatomyositis (pm/dm).
Objectives:
To determine serum levels and significance of svcam-1 and se-selectin in patients with pm/dm.
Patients and methods:
Serum samples from 36 pm/dm patients, 30 patients with systemic sclerosis and 25 healthy control subjects were examined using specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay systems.
Results:
The serum levels of svcam-1 in the pm/dm patients were significantly higher than those in the healthy controls. the elevated serum svcam-1 levels were correlated with the values of elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and elevated serum hyaluronate levels in the pm/dm patients. the serum se-selectin levels in the pm/dm patients were also significantly higher than those in the healthy controls. the elevated serum se-selectin levels were correlated with the incidence of elevated creatine kinase activities. the concentrations of serum se-selectin were correlated with the serum tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 concentrations in the pm/dm patients (r = 0.53).
Conclusions:
These results suggest that serum svcam-1 and se-selectin levels might be useful for detecting disease activity in patients with pm/dm.