Platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule

PECAM-1 (platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule) is a cell adhesion molecule essential for leukocyte transendothelial migration under inflammatory conditions (UniProt: P16284). It functions through homophilic and heterophilic interactions to regulate immune cell trafficking across endothelial barriers and modulates macrophage-mediated clearance of apoptotic leukocytes. The protein also regulates bradykinin receptor signaling and ERK1/2 activation in endothelial cells.

PECAM-1 is primarily expressed at endothelial cell junctions and plays roles in vascular integrity and immune cell extravasation (UniProt: P16284). Its functions extend to modulating inflammatory responses and atherosclerosis susceptibility. UniProt records no dedicated disease section for this protein.

PECAM-1 shows upregulation in Alzheimer's disease brain tissue (mean log2FC = 0.5675) compared to age-matched controls in post-mortem samples analyzed by quantitative proteomics (Chaparral AD proteomics). This elevation may reflect increased neuroinflammatory processes or altered blood-brain barrier dynamics associated with AD pathology, though the functional significance of this change remains to be established.