Circulating adhesion molecules in bronchial asthma

It has been shown that leukocyte adhesion mechanisms play an important role in the development of allergic inflammation in bronchial asthma. We measured the circulating levels of E-selectin (formerly called sElam-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) by ELISA in asthmatic subjects. We selected 10 asthmatic subjects to study during an asthma attack, 10 asthmatic subjects in an intercrisis phase, and 20 healthy nonatopic control subjects. A significant increase in the serum levels of soluble E-selectin and soluble ICAM-1 was found in the group of patients during an asthmatic crisis compared to the controls (p < 0.001). The asthmatic patients in an intercrisis phase and the healthy control subjects had overlapping levels of soluble ICAM-1 and soluble E-selectin. The clinical utility of serum soluble levels of adhesion molecules has not been completely assessed and these circulating molecules do not appear to be a useful marker for monitoring the persistent inflammatory activity in stable bronchial asthma.