E-Selectin, P-Selectin and Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-3 (ICAM-3) in Plasma and Synovial Fluid of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis.

¹Seham A Abo-Shousha, ²Mona H Abd El-Migid and ¹Eman A Rashwan.

¹Department of Immunology, Medical Research Institute, Alexandria University and ²Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University.

The level of adhesion molecules; E-selectin, P-selectin and intercellular adhesion molecule-3 (ICAM-3) in plasma and synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) have been determined to study the possible role of these molecules in the disease activities. Plasma levels of E-selectin, P-selectin and ICAM-3 have been found to be significantly increased in patients with RA and OA compared to normal subjects. The same parameters were found to be significantly elevated in RA than in OA. In synovial fluid, the levels of the three adhesion molecule were significantly heigher in RA than OA. These results suggest that E-selectin, P-selectin and ICAM-3 may play a role in the inflammatory responses and the pathogenesis of RA and OA.