Serum levels of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in patients with alcoholic liver disease

Serum levels of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) were measured in 37 patients with alcoholic liver disease, six alcoholics without liver disease and ten healthy subjects. The serum level of ICAM-1 was significantly higher in the patients with alcoholic cirrhosis than in the noncirrhotic alcoholic liver disease patients (P < 0.005) and the healthy subjects (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the serum level of ICAM-1 was significantly higher in the patients with alcoholic hepatitis than in those with alcoholic cirrhosis (P < 0.001). No significant difference in serum ICAM-1 levels was found between normal subjects and alcoholics without liver diseases. In the patients with alcoholic hepatitis, serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) derived from macrophages were increased in the presence of endotoxemia. The increase in serum ICAM-1 may therefore be related to the strong expression of ICAM-1 of hepatocytes and endothelial cells accompanied by the increase in serum TNF-alpha.