Folia Morphol (Warsz) 2002;61(3):143-5
Niezgoda A, Losy J.
Department of Clinical Neuroimmunology, University School of Medicine,
Poznan, Poland.
PECAM-1 is an adhesion molecule--a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily--involved in the transendothelial migration of leukocytes.
PECAM-1 is expressed on lymphocytes, monocytes and granulocytes.
It is also found on endothelial cells and platelets.
We present data showing that the cell-bound form of PECAM-1 expression on monocytes is increased in MS patients, compared to controls.
We also show that PECAM-1 is significantly over-expressed on lymphocytes in patients with active MRI lesions, when compared to those without gadolinium-enhancing lesions.
Our results suggest that the cell-bound form of PECAM-1 can be regarded as a marker of MS activity.