Circulating soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in type C viral hepatitis.
OBJECTIVE
Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) is one of the members of the immunoglobulin supergene family; it expresses in response to inflammatory mediators and activation. Circulating soluble ICAM-1 (sICAM-1) levels in acute and chronic viral hepatitis C virus infection were studied.


METHODS
Thirty blood samples from 10 patients with acute hepatitis C, and 36 blood samples from 25 patients with chronic hepatitis C were compared with those from 10 healthy volunteers, using the enzyme immunoassay method.


RESULTS
The mean circulating sICAM-1 activities in healthy volunteers was 339 +/- 93 ng/ml. Maximum values of sICAM-1 activities in acute (1394 +/- 502 ng/ml, P = 0.004) and chronic (662 +/- 477 ng/ml, P = 0.047) hepatitis C were increased. Acute hepatitis had a higher maximum circulating sICAM-1 activity than chronic hepatitis (P = 0.009). Longitudinal circulating sICAM-1 activities roughly correlated with the serum aminotransferase (ALT) activities. In acute viral hepatitis C, three patients developed an increase in circulating sICAM-1 activities before the manifestation of abnormal ALT activity. Circulating sICAM-1 activities showed a positive correlation with serum ALT activities (P < 0.001) and serum total bilirubin levels (P = 0.001) and a negative correlation with serum albumin levels (P = 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
The present study suggested that ICAM-1 plays a role in the hepatocellular injury during viral hepatitis C infection.
Yang
S S
SS
Division of Gastroenterology, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Tsai
G
G
Wu
C H
CH
Chen
D S
DS
D000208:Acute Disease; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000097:blood*; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D001663:Bilirubin