Levels of soluble Fas/APO-1/CD95 in systemic lupus erythematosus and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
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.
Knipping
E
E
German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Krammer
P H
PH
Onel
K B
KB
Lehman
T J
TJ
Mysler
E
E
Elkon
K B
KB
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*
D019014:fas Receptor