(Stroke. 1997;28:2214-2218.)
© 1997 American Heart Association, Inc.
Articles |
From the Departments of Neurology (C.J.M.S., L.J.K., J. van G.) and Hematology (H.K.N., J.J.S., R.F.), University Hospital Utrecht (Netherlands).
Correspondence to C.J.M. Frijns, MD, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Utrecht, PO Box 85500, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, Netherlands. E-mail C.Frijns{at}neuro.azu.nl
| Abstract |
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Methods Plasma was sampled from patients within 2 days of acute ischemic stroke (n=28), from patients with a previous (>1 week) transient or persistent ischemic neurological deficit associated with stenosis of the internal carotid artery (n=34), and from control patients without a history of vascular disease (n=34). Concentrations of sP-selectin, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, and sE-selectin were measured by means of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results Compared with control subjects, sP-selectin and sE-selectin were significantly elevated in the acute stage of ischemic stroke (P<.0001 and P=.001, respectively) as well as in previously symptomatic carotid stenosis (P<.0001 and P=.0007). sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 were not increased.
Conclusions The elevated levels of sE-selectin indicate that endothelial cell activation occurs both in the acute stage of ischemic stroke and in previously symptomatic carotid atherosclerosis. Increased sP-selectin concentrations reflect endothelial cell activation as well but may also be caused by platelet activation.
Key Words: carotid stenosis cell adhesion molecules cerebral infarction endothelial
| Introduction |
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-granules in platelets and of the
endothelial Weibel-Palade bodies. As a result of
alternative splicing, two isoforms exist: one with and one without a
transmembrane region. The latter soluble molecule is secreted from the
-granules or from the Weibel-Palade bodies. The isoform with the
transmembrane part as well as the other adhesion molecules are
expressed on the cell surface after activation. They are shed into the
circulation by proteolysis. Activation of endothelial cells and platelets plays an important role in the development of atherosclerosis and thrombotic disorders and is accompanied by an increased expression of endothelial adhesion molecules at the site of thrombosis or infarction. In vitro activation of platelets and/or endothelial cells results in shedding of selectins and immunoglobulin gene superfamily molecules in the supernatant.1 Recently, several soluble isoforms of adhesion molecules were found to circulate in the peripheral blood and to be elevated in diseases such as sepsis and vasculitis.3,4 P-selectin, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1 are strongly expressed on endothelium overlying human atherosclerotic plaques.5,6 In animal models of coronary ischemia and reperfusion, as well as in myocardial infarction in humans, a role of endothelial as well as leukocyte adhesion molecules has been reported.712 Adhesion molecules are implicated in peripheral vascular disease as well.9,1315 In animal experiments of MCA occlusion and reperfusion, ICAM-1 and P-selectin have been demonstrated to play an important role in the pathogenesis of ischemic infarction.16 Recently, upregulation of endothelial ICAM-1 in infarcted areas has been found in patients with acute ischemic stroke.17 Upregulation of E-selectin expression in ischemic rat cortex up to 2 days after MCA occlusion has also been reported,18 as well as in MCA occlusion and reperfusion in nonhuman primates at 24 hours of reperfusion.19 In focal central nervous system ischemia, anti-CD18 MoAbs inhibit leukocyte adherence to endothelium,20,21 increasing postreperfusion microvessel patency, whereas MoAbs against ICAM-1 reduce ischemic cell damage.2225
We investigated plasma samples of patients with a recent cerebral infarct or with (transient) neurological deficit associated with stenosis of the ICA to determine whether in these conditions activation of endothelial cells and platelets can be detected by measuring soluble adhesion molecules. Values were compared with those obtained in patients without evidence of vascular disease.
| Subjects and Methods |
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Blood Sampling and Laboratory Investigations
Blood was drawn by the evacuated tube system in all patients in
the same way and collected in citrate anticoagulant (13
mmol/L). It was immediately centrifuged at
2000g for 15 minutes at 4°C. The supernatant was removed
and centrifuged a second time. Plasma samples were then stored
at -70°C. Levels of sP-selectin were measured by means of an
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay developed at our department.
Microtiter plates were coated overnight at 4°C with IgG MoAb 2.15. In
each plate, a standard of at least six dilutions of platelet
lysate, with a known amount of sP-selectin, was included. The
sP-selectin concentration in the platelet lysate was established by
means of immunopurified P-selectin (R&D Systems Ltd). The second MoAb
was biotinylated IgG 1.18.28 Binding of this MoAb was
detected by addition of streptavidinhorseradish peroxidase. Staining
was done with o-phenylenediamine
dihydrochloride. The optical density at 490 nm (OD490) was
read in a VMAX plate reader (Molecular Devices Corp), and
P-selectin levels of test samples were calculated by comparison
with the OD490 of the standard samples containing
predetermined levels of P-selectin. The median intra-assay coefficient
of variation was 3%.
sVCAM-1, sICAM-1, and E-selectin were measured with commercially available kits (R&D Systems). Median intra-assay coefficients of variation were 1.7%, 4.6%, and 2.5%, respectively. Statistical evaluation was performed with the Mann-Whitney U test. Data are presented as mean±SD values. Significance levels were set at P<.05.
| Results |
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sE-selectin concentrations were also significantly elevated in acute ischemic stroke (53±42 ng/mL; P=.001) as well as in carotid atherosclerosis (49±25 ng/mL; P=.0007) compared with control subjects (35±15 ng/mL), although with considerable overlap. The highest values occurred in the patient with a fatal stroke who also had an excessively high P-selectin value (254.70 ng/mL) and in a patient without a known concomitant disease, who had a stenosis of the right ICA of more than 70% (155.30 ng/mL). Omitting these values from the analysis resulted in values of P=.0017 and P=.0011, respectively. The Spearman correlation coefficient of sP-selectin and sE-selectin was .36 (P=.0004).
No differences were found with respect to sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 concentrations, except for a trend toward higher sVCAM-1 levels in the patients with carotid atherosclerosis (P=.07). Excluding the two patients with hypertension from the control group led to similar probability values for all comparisons except sVCAM-1, which became significantly elevated in carotid atherosclerosis (P=.04).
| Discussion |
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Wu et al29 also reported elevation of sP-selectin in patients with acute ischemic stroke. They concluded that elevated sP-selectin results from platelet activation and endothelial damage in the acute phase. Indeed, the correlation we found between sP-selectin and sE-selectin suggests that part of sP-selectin originates from endothelial cells and the remainder from platelets. Platelet activation in focal cerebral ischemia has been shown in MCA occlusion and reperfusion experiments in animals. Okada et al16 demonstrated elevated P-selectin in infarcted tissue at 4 and 24 hours of reperfusion in conjunction with an increase of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor antigen, indicating the presence of activated platelets. In acute ischemic stroke, generation of thrombin, oxygen radicals, and other stimulants of endothelial cells and platelets leads to an increase of both endothelial and platelet P-selectin expression, which in turn leads to further adhesion of leukocytes and subsequent release of cytokines and oxygen radicals, increase of tissue damage, exposure of tissue factor, activation of coagulation, and stimulation of endothelial cells and platelets, in an ongoing cycle. Acting through these processes, various systemic concomitant disorders such as atherosclerotic vascular disease and infectious diseases may contribute to increase of soluble adhesion molecules.
It could be argued that elevated sP-selectin is a consequence of platelet activation induced by retrieval of blood. However, in a study of different ways of plasma preparation, no influence on sP-selectin levels was found either by drawing of blood with different techniques or by addition of various protease inhibitors, irrespective of in vitro platelet activation, as demonstrated by elevated levels of ß-thromboglobulin and platelet factor 4.32 In another study we also did not find an influence of addition of hirudin and prostaglandin E1, nor of prolonged centrifugation, on sP-selectin in our plasma samples.4
ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 are upregulated by cytokines and other mediators of inflammation. Hence, an increased expression is expected in such disorders as sepsis and other infectious diseases, inflammatory disorders, autoimmune diseases, atherosclerosis and other vasculopathies, and acute ischemic events such as myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke.2,3 Indeed, the expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 is found on human atherosclerotic plaques.5,6 Also, in view of the relevance of vascular risk factors, increased expression of ICAM-1 was found in carotid artery sections of spontaneously hypertensive rats.33 However, we could not demonstrate an increase of sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 in our two vascular patient groups, in contrast to an earlier report in which increased levels of sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 were found in 22 acute stroke patients compared with 22 control subjects without vascular risk factors.30 In another study sICAM-1 levels were significantly lower in 14 acute stroke patients compared with 12 healthy control subjects.34 The question of an explanation of these differences arises.
Administration of heparin to stroke patients in the study of Fassbender
et al,30 as opposed to low-dose aspirin in most of our
patients, may be an explanation. Recently, several studies have focused
on the influence of anti-inflammatory agents on nuclear factor-
B, a
transcription factor that is critical for the expression of several
genes, including E-selectin, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1. In vitro experiments
showed aspirin to inhibit activation of nuclear factor-
B in a
dose-dependent way.35,36 Subsequently, tumor necrosis
factor-
or interleukin-1induced expression of adhesion molecules
may be inhibited. This was demonstrated for E-selectin and VCAM-1, but
not for ICAM-1, in one study.37 However, aspirin
concentrations in these experiments were rather high. Comparable
concentrations in vivo can only be attained by toxic dosages. It is
still unclear whether these in vitro effects play a role in vivo, and
how different oral doses of aspirin affect expression of
endothelial adhesion molecules.
Another more plausible explanation for some of these contradictory results has been presented in a recent study on expression of ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and E-selectin in the human carotid bifurcation.38 Expression of VCAM and E-selectin was limited to specimens with plaques and was absent in normal arteries. However, strong focal expression of ICAM-1, limited to the lateral outer wall of the ICA, was also present in vessels with no or low-grade stenosis. The authors conclude that the expression of ICAM-1 in the carotid artery precedes the first signs of atherosclerosis. If we assume that carotid plaques are indicative of more widespread atherosclerosis and consider that we excluded patients with symptomatic vascular diseases, but not with vascular risk factors, from the control group, this may explain why no difference was found for sICAM-1, whereas sE-selectin was significantly elevated and sVCAM-1 showed a trend toward increased concentrations in patients with carotid stenosis.
In conclusion, elevated plasma concentrations of sE-selectin indicate activation of endothelial cells, whereas increased levels of sP-selectin reflect activation of both endothelial cells and platelets in acute ischemic stroke and in carotid atherosclerosis associated with previous ischemic neurological deficits.
| Selected Abbreviations and Acronyms |
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| Acknowledgments |
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Received June 3, 1997; revision received July 2, 1997; accepted August 14, 1997.
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