Widespread endothelial activation and dysfunction often precede clinical sepsis. Several endotheliumrelated
molecules have been investigated as potential biomarkers for early diagnosis and/or prognosis
of sepsis, providing different results depending on study designs. Such factors include endothelial adhesion
molecules like E- and P-selectin, and the intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular endothelial cadherin,
growth factors such as Angiopoietin-1 and -2 and vascular endothelial growth factor, as well as von
Willebrand factor antigen. We sought to investigate whether circulating biomarkers of endothelial activation/
dysfunction measured at ICU admission are associated with subsequent sepsis development.