The role of endothelial cell reactive antibodies in peripheral arterial disease

It is hypothesised that endothelial cell reactive antibodies (ECRA) play a role in the progression of PAD through activation of endothelial cells and the release of inflammatory cytokines. We aimed to test this hypothesis by assessing levels of ECRA, E-selectin and IL-6 in patients with PAD of varying severity in a case controlled study. DESIGN, MATERIALS, METHODS: Patients were assessed clinically and with ankle-brachial pressure indices. Patients with critical ischaemia (CI, n=30), stable claudicants (SC, n=30), and age-matched controls (AMC, n=20) were studied. Antibody, E-selectin and IL-6 levels were measured using ELISA.

ECRA levels were significantly raised in the CI group over AMC. IL-6 levels were significantly elevated in both SC and CI over the control group and in CI over SC. There were no significant differences in E-selectin levels between the AMC, SC and CI.

Our findings support the hypothesis that autoantibodies play a role in promoting PAD by elevating IL-6. The absence of an elevation in E-selectin in this study may be due to its short half-life, and casts doubt on its value as a marker of inflammation in atherosclerosis.