Potential biomarkers in patients with systemic sclerosis.

AIM: Reduced capillary density is considered the hallmark of systemic sclerosis (SSc) leads to tissue hypoxia, a condition that usually induces angiogenesis. The objective of our study is to investigate mediators regulating angiogenesis in SSc and to correlate their levels with serological and clinical parameters.

METHODS: vascular endothelial growth factor, fibroblast growth factor-2, endostatin, thrombospondin-1 and soluble vascular cell and intracellular adhesion molecules (sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1) were measured in sera of SSc and normal subjects by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS: Among the pro- and anti-angiogenic mediators, endostatin was significantly higher in SSc than in the control subjects. Out of the proteases involved in endostatin production, elastase but not cathepsin-L, was significantly increased in SSc patients. The soluble adhesion molecules sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 were significantly increased and they occur in parallel. sICAM-1, but not sVCAM-1 positively correlates with the inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).

CONCLUSIONS: Endostatin, elastase and the soluble adhesion molecules (sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1) are potentially involved in the pathogenesis of SSc. Moreover, the significant correlation observed between sICAM-1 and CRP and ESR indicates that sICAM-1 might be a useful biomarker of the inflammatory state of the disease.