Elevation of plasma podoplanin in Kawasaki disease

Abstract Objectives Kawasaki disease (KD) is a systemic vasculitis that results in abnormalities in the coronary arteries. Podoplanin (PDPN) and its receptor C-type lectin-like receptor 2 (CLEC-2) are involved in inflammatory hemostasis and have also been proved to be effective predictive markers for early evaluation of sepsis and coagulation. This study aimed to investigate the expression of PDPN and its receptor CLEC-2 in the patients with KD, and evaluate the relationship between PDPN and clinical laboratory parameters. Methods Plasma samples were obtained from a cohort of 63 patients diagnosed with KD and 31 healthy children. Patients with KD were further categorized into two groups: KD with coronary artery lesions (KD-CALs) and KD non-coronary artery lesions (KD-NCALs). The plasma levels of PDPN, CLEC-2, and GPVI were quantified using ELISA. Results Our findings indicated that the plasma concentrations of PDPN, CLEC-2, and GPVI were significantly elevated in KD patients compared to the healthy controls. Moreover, positive correlations between plasma PDPN levels and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), interleukin-6, and D-dimer were observed in the KD-CALs group. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the area under the curve of PDPN was 0.8377, with PDPN providing 45.45 % sensitivity and 90.48 % specificity, which proved the value of PDPN as a predictor of CALs in KD. Conclusions The findings suggest that PDPN may play a role in the pathogenesis of KD, and upregulation of PDPN may contribute to the hypercoagulable state observed in KD. Therefore, PDPN could potentially be a diagnostic biomarker for KD.