Serum levels of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecules may correlate with the severity of dengue virus-1 infection in adults

The damage of vascular endothelial cells has been speculated to be involved in the pathogenesis of dengue virus (DENV) infection. However, little is known about the role of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) in predicting the severity of dengue infection in adults. In this study, 51 adults with DENV-1 infection (21 with severe dengue and 30 with dengue fever (DF) were included, and their serum levels of sVCAM-1 and other parameters were determined. The results indicated that the levels of sVCAM-1 were elevated on days 1-3 to 16.75 (11.55-34.74) ng/mL in the severe dengue patients. These levels increased rapidly to peak values of 43.53 (37.15-47.02) ng/mL on days 10-12 and then declined; however, the values were maintained at a high level (38.07 (26.06-39.63) ng/mL). Other parameters, including reduced platelet (PLT) counts, neutrophil (NEU) counts and increased levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and creatine kinase (CK), were also observed in the severe dengue group but not in the DF group. The levels of cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, interferon gamma (IFN gamma), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), were transiently increased in the severe dengue patients. Among the aforementioned parameters, only sVCAM-1 levels were significantly elevated earlier and more persistently in the severe dengue patients than in the DF patients. sVCAM-1 positively correlated with the levels of ALT, AST, LDH, TNF-alpha, and IL-6 and negatively correlated with the levels of PLT, NEU, and viremia. Notably, the high levels of sVCAM-1 were closely associated with the severe dengue patients. In conclusion, sVCAM-1 may be a superior indicator for monitoring the severity of dengue.