Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1 (ICAM-1), also known as CD45, is a member of the immunoglobulin family and is expressed primarily on the surface of endothelial cells and cells of the immune system.
Following stimulation, through cytokines, the concentration of ICAM-1 is increased.
The role of ICAM-1 as a biological marker has been established for several different pathological conditions:
- Allergic airway inflammation (allergic asthma) and the pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis
- In contact allergic dermatitis
- In bladder cancer, there is a direct correlation between the expression of ICAM-1 and the degree of tumor differentiation. In patients with gastrointestinal cancer and liver metastases, ICAM-1 levels are significantly higher than in patients without metastases
- In lymphoproliferative disorders, ICAM-1 is associated with the degree of malignancy. In HTLV-1-related myelopathy and adult T-cell leukemia, serum ICAM-1 is elevated
- Patients with malignant melanoma have significantly elevated serum sICAM-1 levels and are of prognostic significance
- Significantly elevated sICAM-1 concentration was detected in patients with HIV-1 infection
- In malaria, ICAM-1 serves to attach infected erythrocytes to the capillary endothelium, an important event in the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria
- ICAM-1 is a good prognostic parameter for the response of hepatitis B to IFN-beta therapy
- ICAM-1 is a reliable indicator for inflammatory processes within the central nervous system related to the blood-CSF barrier disorder
- ICAM-1 appears to provide the mechanism important for the rejection of the corneal graft
- ICAM-1 expression is also increased during rejection in a transplanted heart
- Serum ICAM-1 is significantly increased during acute renal transplant rejection. Measurement of sICAM-1 is useful in distinguishing rejection from cyclosporin-A poisoning
- Strong expression of ICAM-1 is also observed in patients with acute liver transplant rejection
- Circulating ICAM-1 level was found in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and in people at risk of developing the disease
- Significant increases in serum ICAM-1 have been reported in patients with uveitis and patients with sarcoidosis
- ICAM-1 is significantly increased in the sera of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
- Increased levels of sICAM-1 are associated with rheumatoid arthritis activity
- In psoriasis, ICAM-1 shows a strong correlation with the severity of the disease and decreases with successful treatment. Before treatment, ICAM-1 levels were elevated compared to healthy controls
- ICAM-1 is not detectable in most amniotic fluid samples in pregnant women, but when elevated, it is associated with intrauterine growth restriction
Important Note
The measurement of ICAM-1 is only performed for research purposes in the context of clinical studies and experimental protocols.
