Differential patterns of circulating intercellular adhesion molecule-1 ( XXXX (cVCAM-1) during liver allograft rejection.

@entity2071 @entity281 @entity4725
During allograft rejection, adhesion molecules play an integral role in infiltration, activation, and binding of effector cells to target tissue. Some adhesion molecules, including @entity2071 and @entity4725 , exist in soluble, circulating forms that retain ligand-binding activity. In the present study the levels of circulating @entity2071 (cICAM-1) and @entity4725 (cVCAM-1) were compared in the serum and bile of pediatric liver recipients. The cICAM-1 was significantly elevated in the serum during allograft rejection and @entity281 relative to periods when no rejection was apparent. Biliary cICAM-1, however, was specifically elevated during rejection and not during @entity281 or when no rejection was apparent. The cVCAM-1 levels were elevated in the serum during rejection compared with levels when no rejection was evident. In contrast, cVCAM-1 was not detected in the bile. Serum levels of both cICAM-1 and cVCAM-1 decreased rapidly following successful treatment for rejection, whereas elevated levels persisted, or increased, in ongoing rejection. The differential patterns of the circulating forms of @entity2071 and cVCAM-1 were consistent with the membrane expression of these molecules during graft rejection. @entity2071 expression was extensive on bile duct epithelium, endothelium, hepatocytes, and infiltrating leukocytes during rejection, while @entity4725 was restricted to endothelium. These findings indicate that the release of circulating adhesion molecules is a prominent feature of liver allograft rejection. Measurement of these markers may be useful in distinguishing rejection from @entity281 and in determining the efficacy of treatment for rejection.
