LAUSR

Background CRP and/or ESR are often unreliable indicators of disease activity. Serum markers of endothelial activation may be promising alternatives. We have recently shown that soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) is elevated in patients with positive antinuclear antibodies [1]. We also have described similar findings in another cohort of patients with a variety of rheumatic diseases [2] and now report a multivariate analysis of these data. Objectives CRP, ESR, age, disease and gender were correlated to sVCAM-1. Methods Cross-sectional study with 230 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and different vasculitides (VASC). Disease activities were determined using DAS28, BASDAI, BVAS, RF, ACPA, CRP or ESR. Treatment regimens were subgrouped for conventional DMARDs (cDMARDs) or sets of biologics (bDMARDs). sVCAM-1 (ng/ml) was determined in the serum by ELISA and data were compared to age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HC). Results Significant (p 0.05) overexpression of sVCAM-1 as compared to HC were found in the following groups and subgroups (subgroup data not shown): RA (n=136): 1.26-fold and in subgroups with bDMARDs, female gender, age >50 years, and RF≥15 IU/ml. AS (n=34): 1.71-fold and in subgroups with bDMARDs, age ≤50 years, female gender, CRP <3 mg/dl, and ESR<20 mm/h. VASC (n=25): 2.52-fold and in subgroups with cDMARDs, BVAS ≤10 and >10, disease duration ≤120 months, age ≤50 years, female and male gender, CRP ≤3 mg/dl, and ESR ≤20 mm/h. PsA (n=35): no significant changes. Linear regression analysis showed that CRP and ESR but not sVCAM-1 were correlated to each other (r=0.637, p<0.001). In addition, multiple linear regression showed that sVCAM-1 was independently associated with age and disease (RA, AS, VASC). However, sVCAM-1 had no impact on CRP, ESR and gender. Conclusion sVCAM-1 is an objective disease marker in patients with RA, AS and VASC. sVCAM-1 is not correlated with CRP and ESR and may thus provide additional information of disease activity. Prospective studies are needed to establish sVCAM-1 as a marker of rheumatic diseases, especially in vasculitis. References [1] Oleszowsky M, Seidel MF. Serum Soluble Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 Overexpression Is a Disease Marker in Patients with First-Time Diagnosed Antinuclear Antibodies: A Prospective, Observational Pilot Study. Biomed Res Int. 2018:8286067. doi: 10.1155/2018/8286067. eCollection 2018. 1;2018:8286067. [2] Laaraj W, Seidel MF. Soluble vascular adhesion molecule-1 is overexpressed in patients with vasculitis, rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2018, 77(supp. 2018), A1185, DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2018-eular.5850 Disclosure of Interests Mara Oleszowsky: None declared, Widian Laaraj: None declared, Tanja Kottmann: None declared, Matthias Seidel Grant/research support from: Pfizer, Actelion, Consultant for: Pfizer, Lilly