title: Elevated serum levels of soluble CD146 in patients with systemic sclerosis.
abstract: CD146, a transmembrane glycoprotein member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, acts as an adhesion molecule that helps maintain the cell monolayer. Human endothelial cells expressing CD146 are involved in angiogenesis and inflammation. Recently, we developed a sandwich ELISA for detecting soluble CD146 (sCD146) in human serum specimens. The aim of this study is to determine serum levels of sCD146 in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to examine the relationship between sCD146 levels and clinical manifestations. We quantified serum sCD146 levels in 47 serum samples from patients fulfilling criteria for SSc, 23 serum samples from patients fulfilling criteria for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and 25 healthy controls. We also investigated the relationship between sCD146 levels and various clinical characteristics with SSc patients. Levels of sCD146 were significantly higher in the 47 patients with SSc than in the 25 healthy controls and 23 patients with RA (12.50 vs. 6.91 vs. 9.95 ng/ml; p < 0.001). Serum sCD146 levels in SSc patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) were lower than in SSc patients without PAH (10.12 vs.13.17 ng/ml; p < 0.01). The serum levels of sCD146 were elevated in patients with SSc. However, decreased sCD146 levels were observed in SSc patients with PAH. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the sources and the mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Juntendo University, Faculty of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Juntendo University, Faculty of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan. tnaoto@juntendo.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Naoto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Toyo University, 2100, Kujirai, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Sayuri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okuda
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Juntendo University, Faculty of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan.
authors.forename: Kurisu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tada
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Juntendo University, Faculty of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan.
authors.forename: Masakazu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Juntendo University, Faculty of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamaji
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Toyo University, 2100, Kujirai, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Juntendo University, Faculty of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshinari
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takasaki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000097:blood*; D051929:CD146 Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000097:blood*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D051929:CD146 Antigen
keywords: Pulmonary arterial hypertension; Soluble CD146; Systemic sclerosis