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Anti-endothelial cell autoantibodies and soluble markers of endothelial cell dysfunction in systemic lupus
Joel Constans1, Remy Dupuy, Andrew D Blann
1Service de Médecine Interne et Pathologie Vasculaire, Hôpital Saint-André, 1 rue Jean Burguet, 33075 Bordeaux, France. joel.constans@chu-bordeaux.fr
Objective:
To determine if anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECA) and plasma markers of endothelial cell function are related to disease severity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Methods:
We measured AECA by human umbilical vein endothelial cell binding, endothelial markers von Willebrand factor, soluble thrombomodulin, and soluble E-selectin by ELISA, and disease severity by SLEDAI and SLICC/ACR in 35 patients with SLE.
Results:
Despite high levels of IgG AECA (p = 0.001) and von Willebrand factor (p = 0.0007) compared to 21 healthy controls, we found a positive correlation only between IgG AECA and the SLEDAI index (r = 0.393, p = 0.021).
Conclusion:
IgG AECA seem to be related to disease activity in SLE, possibly in a pathogenic role. Conversely, plasma markers of endothelial cell damage seem to be an epiphenomenon and may simply be related to excess inflammation.
