Significance of Plasma Circulating Endothelial Microparticles Combined with Von Willebrand Factor in Coronary Injury of Kawasaki Disease

Abstract Background:The greatest complication of Kawasaki disease (KD) is coronary artery injury, and the requirement for early diagnosis and treatment is paramount. Thus, markers of vascular endothelial injury are of important clinical significance. Methods:According to our diagnostic criteria, blood samples were collected from 43 patients with KD, who were then divided into coronary artery lesions (CALs) and non-CALs (NCALs) groups according to their Z-score. As the control group, an additional 26 blood samples were collected from healthy children. Flow cytometry (FCM) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to detect the expression levels of plasma endothelial microparticles (EMPs) and von Willebrand factor (vWF). Results:The expression levels of plasma CD31+/CD42b-EMPs, CD105+/CD54+EMPs, and vWF were higher in children with KD than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05).Also, the expression levels of CD31+/CD42b-EMPs, CD105+/CD54+EMPs and vWF in those in the CALs group at the acute and subacute stages were significantly higher than those in the NCALs group (P<0.05). Furthermore, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that the area under the curve (AUC) of CD31+/CD42b-EMPs combined with vWF was 0.896, which indicates a higher diagnostic value in predicting CALs in children with KD. Conclusions:In our study, expression levels of EMPs and vWFare expected to used for early diagnosis, and which are associated with coronary artery injury in KD.