title: Levels of soluble Fas/APO-1/CD95 in systemic lupus erythematosus and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To quantify soluble Fas/APO-1 (sFas/APO-1) protein in the serum of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Soluble Fas/APO-1 was quantified using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Disease activity in SLE patients was assessed by the SLE Disease Activity Index.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Increased serum sFas/APO-1 levels were observed in only 1 of the 27 SLE patients (4%) and 3 of the 10 JRA patients (30%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased levels of sFas/APO-1 occurred infrequently in SLE, and the levels were lower than 10 ng/ml. Increased levels of sFas/APO-1 are not specific for SLE. Soluble Fas/APO-1 is unlikely to be of major pathogenetic significance in SLE.
authors.affiliation: German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Knipping
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Krammer
authors.forename: K B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Onel
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Lehman
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mysler
authors.forename: K B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Elkon
mesh_terms: D001171:Arthritis, Juvenile / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000276:immunology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012995:Solubility; D019014:fas Receptor / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D019014:fas Receptor