Increased Circulating Soluble Junctional Adhesion Molecules in Systemic Sclerosis: Association with Peripheral...

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Rheumatology
• Vascular Biology

Background:

• Systemic sclerosis (SSc) involves microcirculation abnormalities like Raynaud's phenomenon and digital ulcers.
• Peripheral microvasculopathy in SSc often presents with challenging-to-treat digital ulcers.
• Soluble junctional adhesion molecules (sJAMs) have been previously linked to SSc clinical features.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between serum levels of sJAM-A and sJAM-C and peripheral vascular manifestations in SSc.
• To evaluate the potential of sJAM-A and sJAM-C as diagnostic biomarkers for SSc.
• To determine if sJAM levels correlate with the severity of SSc-related microvasculopathy, including digital ulcers.

Main Methods:

• Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure serum sJAM-A and sJAM-C levels.
• Serum samples were analyzed from 110 SSc patients and 85 healthy controls.
• Statistical analyses, including receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and logistic regression, were employed.

Main Results:

• Serum sJAM-A and sJAM-C levels were significantly increased in SSc patients compared to healthy controls.
• Elevated sJAM-A and sJAM-C levels were particularly noted in SSc patients with early/active nailfold videocapillaroscopic (NVC) patterns and ischemic digital ulcers (DUs).
• Circulating sJAM-C demonstrated good diagnostic accuracy in distinguishing SSc patients from controls, and logistic regression suggested sJAM-C may be a better biomarker for SSc-related DUs than sJAM-A.

Conclusions:

• Serum sJAM-A and sJAM-C are elevated in SSc patients, correlating with microvasculopathy and digital ulcer presence.
• sJAM-C shows promise as a diagnostic biomarker for SSc and may be particularly useful for identifying patients at risk for digital ulcers.
• Further longitudinal studies are warranted to assess the predictive value of sJAM-C for new DU development, recurrence, and treatment response in SSc.