Endothelial cells activation in systemic lupus erythematosus patients : is it associated with lupus anticoagulant and history of thrombosis or not?

Abstract EN

Objective : this study was carried out to investigate whether increased endothelial cell activation is associated with thromboembolic events in systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) patients with lupus anticoagulant (LAC).

Subjects : Forty five (45) SLE patients and twenty (20) age and sex matched apparently healthy controls were included in the study.

SLE patients were subdivided on the basis of ; group I : no history of thrombosis and negative LAC, group II : no history of thrombosis and positive LAC group III : positive history of thrombosis with negative LAC, group IV: positive history of thrombosis with LAC positive.

Methods : all patients were subjected to complete history taking with stress on hypertension, smoking, immunosuppressive treatment, through clinical examination and laboratory tests included : concentration of cretonne, cholesterol, homocysteine, plasma level of soluble thrombomodulin (sTM), Von Will brand factor (VWf), serum P-selection (sP-selection) and soluble vascular cell adhesion-molecule 1(s VCAM-1).

Results : concentration of sTM, VWf, sP-selection and sVCAM-1 were significantly elevated in SLE compared with values in healthy controls but this values did not differ between the four groups of patients except for sTM was significant lower in group IV in comparison with other groups.

Conclusion : no association between endothelial cell activation and presence of LAC or history of thrombosis in SLE patients.