Biomarkers of endothelial activation/dysfunction in infectious diseases

Abstract

Endothelial dysfunction contributes to the pathogenesis of a variety of potentially serious infectious diseases and syndromes, including sepsis and septic shock, hemolyticuremic syndrome, severe malaria, and dengue hemorrhagic fever. Because endothelial activation often precedes overt endothelial dysfunction, biomarkers of the activated endothelium in serum and/or plasma may be detectable before classically recognized markers of disease, and therefore, may be clinically useful as biomarkers of disease severity or prognosis in systemic infectious diseases. In this review, the current status of mediators of endothelial cell function (angiopoietins-1 and -2), components of the coagulation pathway (von Willebrand Factor ADAMTS13, and thrombomodulin), soluble cellsurface adhesion molecules (soluble E-selectin, sIC AM-1, and sVCAM-1), and regulators of vascular tone and permeability (VEGF and sFlt-1) as biomarkers in severe infectious diseases is discussed in the context of sepsis, E. coli O157:H7 infection, malaria, and dengue virus infection. © 2013 Landes Bioscience.