Schuetz P. et al. showed in a cohort of sepsis patients, that compared to non-diabetic patients, those patients with diabetes had higher levels of circulating E-selectin and fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (a VEGF signaling protein contributing to vascular leak), and propose developing future studies to investigate whether patients with diabetes suffering from sepsis show an enhanced activation of the endothelium [73]. Here, VEGFA is linked to diabetes mellitus.