Von Willebrand factor, thrombomodulin and nitric oxide in Behcet's disease

Abstract EN

Background: Behcet's disease (BD) is a systemic inflammatory vasculitis with unknown aetiology, characterized by vasculitis and thrombosis as a result of endothelial dysfunction.

Objective: Our purpose was to define levels of plasma von Willebrand factor (vWF), plasma thrombomodulin (TM) and serum nitric oxide (NO) in BD as endothelial factors and study their relations to disease activity and clinical features of BD.

Subjects & Methods: Twenty six patients with BD (15 patients with active disease and 11 with inactive disease), and 20 healthy subjects as a control group were included in this study.

All patients and controls were subjected to measurement ofplasma levels of vWF and TM as well as serum NO, in addition to complete blood picture, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP).

Results: Means ofvWF, TM and NO levels were significantly higher in BD patients than ?controls (P<0.001, 0.01 and 0.001 respectively).

Mean levels of vWF were high in patients with recurrent oral ulcer (ROU) and those with arthritis/arthralgia (P<0.05 and 0.001).

Also mean levels of TM were high in patients with ROU, recurrent genital ulcer (RGU) and those with arthritis/arthralgia (P<0.01, 0.05 and 0.001 respectively).

Mean values of NO were significantly high in patients with ROU, RGU, patients with arthritis/arthralgia and thrombosis (P<0.05, 0.01, 0.05 and 0.01 respectively).

Mean levels ofvWF, TM and NO were significantly higher in active group than inactive group (P<0.05, 0.01 and0.01 respectively).

Positive correlations were found between vWF with ESR* CRP, TM and NO (P<0.05, 0.05, 0.001 and 0.05 respectively).

Also positive correlations were found between TMwith ESR; andESR2 (P< 0.05 for both).

We found also positive correlations between NO with ESRh ESR2 and CRP (P<0.001, 0.001 and 0.01 respectively).

Conclusions: Increased levels of vWF, TM and NO may reflect endothelial cells dysfunction in BD especially during disease activity.

Further studies of their roles in BD may carry a hope for new therapeutic strategies.