Endothelial adhesion molecule expression is unaltered in the peripheral nerve from patients with AIDS and distal sensory polyneuropathy

Fenzi, Flavio; Rossi, Francesca; Rava, Marta; Cavallaro, Tiziana; Ferrari, Sergio; Rizzuto, Nicolò

doi:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2006.06.013

« Previous Next »Journal of Neuroimmunology
Volume 178, Issue 1 , Pages 111-116, September 2006

Endothelial adhesion molecule expression is unaltered in the peripheral nerve from patients with AIDS and distal sensory polyneuropathy

Flavio Fenzi
- Department of Neurological and Visual Sciences, Section of Neurology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
- Corresponding author. Clinica Neurologica, Policlinico G.B. Rossi, P.le L.A. Scuro 10, 37134 Verona, Italy. Fax: +39 045 585933.
Francesca Rossi
- Department of Neurological and Visual Sciences, Section of Neurology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
Marta Rava
- Department of Medicine and Public Health, Unit of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
Tiziana Cavallaro
- Department of Neurological and Visual Sciences, Section of Neurology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
Sergio Ferrari
- Department of Neurological and Visual Sciences, Section of Neurology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
Nicolò Rizzuto
- Department of Neurological and Visual Sciences, Section of Neurology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy

Received 9 March 2006; received in revised form 12 May 2006; accepted 7 June 2006. published online 20 July 2006.

Abstract

Some evidence suggests that endothelial dysfunction, including altered expression of cell adhesion molecules contributes to pathophysiology of nervous system disorders in the course of HIV infection. In this immunohistochemical study we investigated and compared the expression of E-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1) in peripheral nerve blood vessels from patients with distal sensory polyneuropathy (DSP) and control patients with other axonal neuropathies. Similar quantitative pattern of immunoreactivity was found in patients with DSP and controls. E-selectin and PECAM-1 immunostained vessels tended to increase in number only in patients with major CD4 cell depletion. The vascular endothelium of the peripheral nerve in HIV-infected subjects with DSP shows no changes facilitating the migration of infected or activated monocytes/macrophages into the nerve. These phenomena probably do not play a critical role in the development of axonal damage in DSP.

Keywords: Distal sensory polyneuropathy, HIV infection, Sural nerve, Blood vessels, Endothelial adhesion molecules, Immunohistochemistry