Soluble cell adhesion molecules

Soluble cell adhesion molecules (sCAMs) are a class of
cell adhesion molecule (CAMs - cell surface binding proteins) that may represent important biomarkers for inflammatory processes involving activation or damage to cells such as platelets and the endothelium.

They include soluble forms of the cell adhesion molecules ICAM-1, VCAM-1, E-selectin and P-selectin (distinguished as sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, sE-selectin and sP-selectin). The cellular expression of CAMs is difficult to assess clinically, but these soluble forms are present in the circulation and may serve as markers for CAMs. [Abe Y, El-Masri B, Kimball KT, Pownall H, Reilly CF, Osmundsen K, Smith CW, Ballantyne CM. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9598830&dopt=Abstract Soluble cell adhesion molecules in hypertriglyceridemia and potential significance on monocyte adhesion.] "Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol." 1998 May;18(5):723-31.]

Research has focused on their role in cardiovascular (particularly atherosclerosis), connective tissue and neoplastic diseases, where blood plasma levels may be a marker of the disease severity or prognosis, and they may be useful in evaluating progress of some treatments. [ [http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/strokeaha;33/9/2141 Inflammation, Cell Adhesion Molecules, and Stroke: Tools in Pathophysiology and Epidemiology?] , Andrew D. Blann, Paul M. Ridker, Gregory Y.H. Lip, "Stroke", 2002;33:2141]

Many studies have postulated that increased production of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) on the vascular endothelium (blood vessel lining) plays a role in the development of arterial plaque, with the suggestion from both in vitro and in vivo studies that the CAM production is increased by dyslipidemia (abnormal lipid levels in the blood). [Hackman A, Abe Y, Insull W Jr, Pownall H, Smith L, Dunn K, Gotto AM Jr, Ballantyne CM. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=8641021 Levels of soluble cell adhesion molecules in patients with dyslipidemia.] "Circulation." 1996 Apr 1;93(7):1334-8.]

Research studies have used sCAMs as biomarkers to measure correlations with nutrients [Miles EA, Thies F, Wallace FA, Powell JR, Hurst TL, Newsholme EA, Calder PC. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=11115423 Influence of age and dietary fish oil on plasma soluble adhesion molecule concentrations.] "Clin Sci (Lond)." 2001 Jan;100(1):91-100. "Soluble forms of intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and E-selectin (termed sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and sE-selectin respectively) are found in the plasma, and are elevated during inflammatory conditions in which there is increased expression of the cellular forms of the molecules on endothelial and other cells...Fish oil supplementation significantly decreased plasma sVCAM-1 concentrations in the elderly subjects (P=0.043), with a median decrease of 20% (range 16-60%). These observations suggest that fish oil decreases endothelial activation in elderly subjects."] [G Desideri, MC Marinucci, G Tomassoni, PG Masci, A Santucci, C Ferri. [http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/87/6/2940 Vitamin E Supplementation Reduces Plasma Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 and von Willebrand Factor Levels and Increases Nitric Oxide Concentrations in Hypercholesterolemic Patients] . "J of Clin End & Metabolism", 2002, Vol. 87, No. 6 2940-2945] or nutrient levels [Thornalley PJ, Babaei-Jadidi R, Al Ali H, Rabbani N, Antonysunil A, Larkin J, Ahmed A, Rayman G, Bodmer CW. [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1998885 High prevalence of low plasma thiamine concentration in diabetes linked to a marker of vascular disease] , "Diabetologia", Oct 2007; 50(10): 2164–2170.] as significant, or not. [Van Hoydonck PGA , Schouten EG, Manuel-y-Keenoy B, van Campenhout A, Hoppenbrouwers KPM, Temme EHM. [http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v58/n12/abs/1601990a.html;jsessionid=D31BDDB11D900B7DA46CCBE7EA6B3AF4 Does vitamin C supplementation influence the levels of circulating oxidized LDL, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and vWF-antigen in healthy male smokers?] "Eur J Clinical Nutr" (2004) 58, 1587-1593. "Markers of oxidation (bilirubin, uric acid, -tocopherol, retinol, malondialdehyde, circulating Oxidized LDL (OxLDL)) and markers of endothelial activation (sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, vWF-antigen) were analysed."]

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