Elevated plasma levels of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in diabetic patients with microalbuminuria: a marker of vascular dysfunction and progressive vascular disease.

Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs), which accumulate in diabetic vasculature, result in enhanced expression of endothelial cell-associated vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) as well release of a soluble form of VCAM-1 (sVCAM-1) into culture supernatants. We hypothesized that sVCAM-1 in diabetic plasma might reflect early vascular perturbation in diabetic vasculopathy. Diabetic patients with microalbuminuria, a group with a high incidence of vascular complications, had increased plasma levels of sVCAM-1, approximately 1.5-fold greater than diabetic patients without microalbuminuria; P < 0.05. sVCAM-1 may be an indicator of ongoing cellular dysfunction in diabetes, as well as a dynamic surrogate marker for the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions.