[Serum levels of soluble ICAM-1 in asthmatic patients]

Serum soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) levels were measured in 54 asthmatic patients and 32 healthy subjects by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum sICAM-1 levels in the asthmatic patients not undergoing steroid therapy were significantly higher than those in the healthy subjects and those in the asthmatic patients undergoing steroid therapy (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively). Serum sICAM-1 levels in the asthmatic patients during attack were not significantly different from those in the patients in remission. We studied changes in serum ICAM-1 levels in 13 asthmatic patients in remission and during attack and found that serum ICAM-1 levels during attack were significantly higher than those in remission (p < 0.05). The origin of serum soluble ICAM-1 in asthmatic patients still remains unclear, but the up-regulated expression of ICAM-1 on the endothelium of the respiratory tract may contribute to the recruitment of eosinophils, neutrophils and lymphocytes to the airway in bronchial asthma.