TABLE 2.

Biological characteristics of the endothelial dysfunction biomarkers

Biomarker	Molecular function	Endothelial dysfunction
Soluble endoglin	Endoglin is a coreceptor of the transforming growth factor β receptor. It regulates vascular remodeling, angiogenesis, and the activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase	Soluble form of endoglin is released after shedding, and it is a marker of endothelial injury, activation, and inflammation
Endothelin‐1	Produced by vascular endothelial cells as a precursor is cleaved to be secreted in its active form. Endothelin‐1 binds to its receptors exerting a potent vasoconstrictor	High levels of circulating endothelin‐1 are associated with the impairment of vascular tone regulation
sE‐selectin	Expressed on the membrane of activated endothelial cells, and promotes adhesion of leukocytes	Circulating E‐selectin reflects endothelial activation or damage
sVCAM‐1	Expressed on the membrane of activated endothelial cells, and promotes adhesion of leukocytes	Circulating sVCAM‐1 reflects endothelial activation or damage
Soluble thrombomodulin	Expressed on the membrane endothelial cells, plays a role as a protein C cofactor and possess anticoagulant activity	Released from injured endothelial cells is a marker of endothelial cell damage
von Willebrand factor (vWF)	Expressed in the endothelial cells, and mediates platelets adhesion to the endothelium	vWF is released when endothelial cells are damaged and reflects a prothrombotic status