Increased ICAM-l expression in aortic disease

Purpose: In this investigation we evaluated the expression of vascular adhesion molecules: intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), E-selectin, and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in normal and diseased aorta. Methods: Aortic tissue was obtained during operations for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) (inflammatory, n = 3, noninflammatory, n = 6), aortic occlusive disease (AOD) (n = 6), or from fresh cadavers (NL) (n = 5). The tissue was stained with the avidin-biotin complex with the following primary antibodies: anti-ICAM-1-AA6, anti-E-selectin-BB-11, and anti-VCAM-1-4B9. The slides were assigned an inflammatory score of 0 to 3, and the percentage of each cell type staining, 0% to 100%. Results: A trend towards a higher inflammatory score was found in the vessel wall in AAA (2.4 ± 1.8) as compared with AOD (1 ± 0.37) or NL (0.2 ± 0.2). There was no statistical difference. A significant elevation in ICAM-1 expression (p ≤ 0.06), however, was demonstrated in the adventitial endothelial cells of AAA (85.8% ± 7.8%), and AOD (80.0% ± 11.1%), as compared with NL (30.8% ± 12.2%). Both E-selectin and VCAM-1 were expressed in all groups, but no statistical difference was demonstrated. Conclusions: Patients with AAA and AOD display a significant upregulation of the expression of ICAM-1, suggesting a role for this protein in the initiation or maintenance of degenerative aortic diseases.