Intercellular adhesion molecules as novel markers of endothelial function in patients with diabetes mellitus in the South Indian population

Background: Circulating levels of, cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) are considered to be surrogate markers of endothelial function. Our study aimed to evaluate the circulating levels of CAMs, namely, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and endothelial selectin (E-selectin) as the markers of endothelial function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to correlate these with the level of glycaemic control. Methods: In this cross-sectional, case-control study (59 cases; 30 controls), the cases were categorised into three groups based on glycaemic control levels as Group 1 (glycosylated haemoglobin [HbA 1c ] ≤7.4%); Group 2 (HbA 1c =7.5%–8.9%) and Group 3 (HbA 1c ≥9.0%). Serum ICAM-1 and E-selectin levels and HbA 1c were estimated. Results: The median (range) levels of ICAM-1 (ng/mL) and E-selectin (ng/mL) were 811 (290–1240) and 378 (234–607) in cases, whereas in controls, they were 120 (100–131) and 46 (38–50), respectively. Both serum ICAM-1 and E-selectin were significantly higher in cases when compared to controls ( P < 0.0001). Serum ICAM-1 and E-selectin showed a strong positive correlation with HbA1c ( r = 0.882, P < 0.0001 and r = 0.671, P < 0.0001, respectively). Conclusions: Elevated serum levels of ICAM-1 and E-selectin and their significant positive correlation with HbA 1c levels indicate their implications in the pathophysiology of T2DM and its complications.