Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2026
A Simple Bioassay for the Evaluation of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors
Published on: March 15, 2016
Serum levels of soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 in patients with systemic sclerosis
M Jinnin1, T Makino, I Kajihara
1Department of Dermatology and Plastic Surgery, Graduate School of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan. mjin@kumamoto-u.ac.jp
Background:
Although vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A/VEGF receptor 2 (KDR) signalling may play a major role in the microangiopathy of systemic sclerosis (SSc), serum levels of soluble KDR (sKDR) in this disease have not yet been determined.
Objectives:
To evaluate the possibility that serum sKDR levels can be a specific disease marker of SSc.
Methods:
Serum sKDR levels of 42 patients with SSc, 10 patients with Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) and 22 healthy controls were measured with specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to determine KDR mRNA levels.
Results:
In females, the serum sKDR levels were significantly higher in patients with SSc, especially limited cutaneous SSc, than in patients with RP or healthy controls. Quantitative real-time PCR with RNA from skin sections revealed that KDR mRNA levels were also increased in the skin of patients with SSc with elevated serum sKDR levels. A significantly lower prevalence of pulmonary fibrosis, higher percentage vital capacity, and a higher incidence of telangiectasia were seen in female patients with SSc with elevated serum sKDR levels than those with normal levels.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that the skin can be one of the sources of elevated serum sKDR levels, and that serum sKDR levels are useful for diagnosis and may be a marker of microangiopathy in patients with SSc, especially females. The VEGF-A/KDR signalling system may be involved in the pathogenesis of the disease.
