Significance of microparticles in progressive systemic sclerosis with interstitial pneumonia.

We measured and compared the levels of microparticles, chemokines, cell adhesion molecules and platelet activation markers with a view to developing a better understanding of their potential contributions to the pathophysiology of progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS, scleroderma). The concentrations of all the factors in PSS patients were significantly higher than those in normal subjects. PSS patients were divided to two groups by whether they have interstitial pneumonia (IP) or not. There were no differences in the levels of soluble(s) VCAM-1, sICAM-1, sE-selectin and IL-8 between the two groups. However, there were significant between-group differences in the levels of sP-selectin, sCD40L, ENA-78, RANTES (regulated on activation normally T-cell expressed and secreted), platelet-derived microparticles (PDMPs), monocyte-derived microparticle (MDMPs) and KL-6. The level of tissue factor expression on monocytes by A23187 stimulation in PSS patients was found to be similar to that in healthy controls. Although PDMP did not induce the expression of tissue factor on monocytic cell line (THP-1) directly, the recombinant sCD40 ligand-induced expression of tissue factor on THP-1 and generation of MDMP from this cell line were enhanced by the addition of PDMPs. Our findings suggested that elevated levels of PDMPs and MDMPs may be interpreted as a sign of vascular complications in PSS patients, particularly those complicated with IP, offering a new treatment strategy in these patients.