Abstract
BackgroundSystemic sclerosis (SSc), an autoimmune disease, has endothelial dysfunction and tissue fibrosis. The lack of its specific activity markers urges the research. Endocan is an immunomodulatory protein associated with endothelial dysfunction. We aimed to measure of the endocan level in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients’ sera to test its relation to disease activity and treatment responses. Also, to evaluate its specificity by comparing these data with Behçet’s disease (BD) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients’ data.ResultsSSc and RA patients were in activity but in the BD group; eight were active and seven were inactive. The endocan level was higher in the three groups in comparison to the controls without statistically significant differences (p value RA 0.697, SSc 0.063, and BD 0.196). A statistically significant difference in endocan levels between SSc patients with and without vascular manifestations (pulmonary hypertension and finger pitting ulcers, p < 0.0001, p = 0.0097, respectively). There were no significant correlations between endocan level and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein (positive rheumatoid factor for RA) in the three groups (p > 0.05). There were no significant correlations between endocan level and activity scores in the three groups (p > 0.05). The cut-off value of endocan was 1.3 ng/ml.ConclusionEndocan is a non-specific marker for the vascular pathogenesis in systemic sclerosis but not a good predictor for its activity.
Highlights
Systemic sclerosis (SSc), an autoimmune disease, has endothelial dysfunction and tissue fibrosis
Our patients were grouped into SSc group which included 15 female patients of SSc with mean disease duration 10 months .The Behçet’s disease (BD) group included 15 male patients of BD with mean disease duration 9 months, and the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) group included 30 (20 female and 10 male) patients of RA with mean disease duration 7.9 months
Endocan level results There were no statistically significant differences between any disease group and its control group (p < 0.05) as in Table 2.There were no significant differences between endocan levels when were compared between SSc patients and neither RA nor BD patient’s sera levels (p = 0.0845 and p = 0.0253, respectively)
Summary
Systemic sclerosis (SSc), an autoimmune disease, has endothelial dysfunction and tissue fibrosis. Endocan is an immunomodulatory protein associated with endothelial dysfunction. We aimed to measure of the endocan level in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients’ sera to test its relation to disease activity and treatment responses. The functions of endothelial cells (ECs) in healthy microenvironment include separation of blood contents from the interstitial space, prevention of platelet aggregation, inhibition of coagulation cascade, and modulation of the state of smooth muscle contraction (vascular tone). Known as endothelial cell-specific molecule (ECSM1), is a proteoglycan expressed by ECs. Endocan, known as endothelial cell-specific molecule (ECSM1), is a proteoglycan expressed by ECs It is a Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease with complex pathogenesis. The cornerstones of that pathogenesis are endothelial injury and autoimmunity, which are associated with interstitial and vascular fibrosis [3].
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