The serum levels of sE-selectin are increased in patients with bullous pemphigoid or pemphigus vulgaris. Correlation with the number of skin lesions and recovery after corsticosteroid therapy.

Soluble E (sE)-selectin represents the soluble isoform of cellular E-selectin, an adhesion molecule synthesized only by endothelial cells. As a consequence, it may be considered a marker of endothelial activity. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the serum levels of sE-selectin in nine patients affected with pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and in 15 patients with bullous pemphigold (BP). Higher amounts of sE-selectin, median 40.3 ng/mL, range 30-109.6 were found in the patients when compared with 20 healthy individuals, median 28.5 ng/mL, range 6.4-48; P < 0.01, matched for sex and age. These levels were also significantly correlated with the number of detectable lesions (r = 0.63, P < 0.001) when the patient data were considered at the time of the first observation. Thirteen subjects were followed over time for a maximum of 3 months (from three to seven observations). During therapy, the number of lesions and the serum sE-selectin values decreased concomitantly. Differently from sE-selectin, the serum soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) values were not significantly different in the patients from the controls and showed no correlation with the serum sE-selectin concentrations or with the number of lesions. The data presented point to the possible use of sE-selectin determinations as a non-specific follow-up marker, suitable to gauge disease intensity over time and emphasize that endothelial activation is present in BP as well as in PV.