Backround. Endothelial activation is an important etiopathogenetic factor in a group of disorders characterised by primary or secondary vasculitis. The aim of our study was to determine blood concentrations of von Willebrand factor (vWF), vypuštěno soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and E-selectin (E-sel) in children with various rheumatic diseases and in paediatric controls and to correlate them with clinical and laboratory variables. Methods and Results. Total of 28 healthy children (ZD) and 48 patients were evaluated: 6 with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 7 with other diffuse connective tissue diseases (SSD), 11 with Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), 14 with oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and 10 febrile controls (FC). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and full blood count were recorded. ICAM-1, E-sel and vWF concentrations were measured by sandwich ELISA kits. In SLE patients’ concentrations of vWF and ICAM-1 were significantly higher than in healthy (p<0.05), but not febrile controls. ICAM-1 was significantly increased also in SSD group when compared to healthy children (p<0.01). Differences in other groups did not reach statistical significance. Significant negative correlation with age was observed for the group as a whole, E-sel correlated with leukocyte and thrombocyte counts (p<0.01), both molecules with CRP (p<0.05) and with each other (p<0.01). Conclusions. Combined measurement of vWF, ICAM-1 and E-sel as possible markers of endothelial activation in such vypuštěno wide spectrum of paediatric patients and controls is unique vypuštěno. Our finding of increased concentrations of vWF and/or ICAM-1 in children with systemic autoimmune diseases underlines the importance of endothelial involvement in these disorders, but their predictive value in the disease monitoring needs to be further studied.

        Key words: intercellular adhesion molecule-1, E-selectin, von Willebrand factor, rheumatic diseases, children.