Department of Dermatology and Venerology in Bytom, Bytom, Poland.
Inflamm Res. 2012 Dec;61(12):1405-9. doi: 10.1007/s00011-012-0543-6. Epub 2012 Aug 23.
Overproduction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in atopic dermatitis (AD) lesions has previously been observed. It is also known that platelet is an important source of VEGF and platelet factor 4 (PF-4), a potential marker of AD severity.
To evaluate concentrations of VEGF and its soluble receptors (sVEGF-R1 and sVEGF-R2) in the plasma of AD patients and to examine its possible correlation with disease severity and plasma concentrations of PF-4, a platelet activation marker.
Plasma concentrations of VEGF and its receptors and levels of PF-4 were measured by an immunoenzymatic assay in 51 AD patients and in 35 healthy non-atopic controls. The severity of the disease was evaluated using the eczema area and severity index.
AD patients showed significantly increased VEGF and PF-4 plasma concentrations as compared with the controls. Plasma concentrations of sVEGF-R1 and sVEGF-R2 did not differ between the groups. There were no remarkable correlations between plasma VEGF concentration and disease severity or between VEGF and PF-4 concentration.
This study shows that plasma concentration of VEGF may be increased in patients suffering from AD. It seems that plasma VEGF concentration is not a useful marker of disease severity and, apart from platelets, other cells might also release the cytokine.
先前已经观察到特应性皮炎（AD）病变中血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）的过度产生。已知血小板是 VEGF 和血小板因子 4（PF-4）的重要来源，PF-4 是 AD 严重程度的潜在标志物。
评估 AD 患者血浆中 VEGF 及其可溶性受体（sVEGF-R1 和 sVEGF-R2）的浓度，并研究其与疾病严重程度和血小板活化标志物 PF-4 血浆浓度之间的可能相关性。
采用免疫酶联测定法检测 51 例 AD 患者和 35 名健康非特应性对照者血浆中 VEGF 及其受体的浓度和 PF-4 水平。采用湿疹面积和严重程度指数评估疾病严重程度。
与对照组相比，AD 患者的 VEGF 和 PF-4 血浆浓度显著升高。两组间 sVEGF-R1 和 sVEGF-R2 的血浆浓度无显著差异。血浆 VEGF 浓度与疾病严重程度之间或 VEGF 与 PF-4 浓度之间均无显著相关性。
本研究表明，AD 患者的血浆 VEGF 浓度可能升高。似乎血浆 VEGF 浓度不是疾病严重程度的有用标志物，除了血小板外，其他细胞也可能释放该细胞因子。
