title: Serum levels of soluble Fas/APO-1 receptor in human retroviral infection and associated diseases.
abstract: Fas/APO-1 mediates apoptosis via Fas and Fas ligand transduction. Recently, a soluble form of Fas (sFas) was described which seems to be functionally implicated in the Fas signal system, suggesting a relationship between some disorders and sFas function. We measured sFas-levels in sera from normal controls and patients with disorders linked to human retroviral infection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and human T-cell leukemia virus type-1 (HTLV-1). The sFas level of normal controls. HTLV-1 carriers seronegative for HIV, and patients with HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical paraparesis (HAM/TSP), adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), and AIDS was 1.62 +/- 0.49, 1.90 +/- 0.49, 2.00 +/- 0.59, 3.32 +/- 2.05, and 3.06 +/- 0.92 ng/ml, respectively. Although the level of sFas in patient groups with HAM/TSP, ATL, and AIDS was significantly high in comparison to that of normal controls (p < 0.01), the individual values were highly variable within the groups. The sFas level was statistically correlated to the soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) level, as well as to cells expressing membrane Fas (mFas), indicating the same cellular origin. In some ATL cases, however, serum sFas levels and mFas expression density on leukemic T-cells were discrepant, with especially high levels of the soluble form and a lack of expression of the membrane form observed in 2 cases, sFas detection could serve as a putative marker for active diseases in patients with ATL and AIDS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nagasaki University School of Medicine.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kamihira
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hiragata
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Izumikawa
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuo
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugahara
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsuruta
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Atogami
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsukasaki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tomonaga
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000097:blood; D000328:Adult; D017209:Apoptosis; D002353:Carrier State / Q000097:blood; D053222:Fas Ligand Protein; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood*; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D016399:Lymphoma, T-Cell / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012192:Retroviridae Infections / Q000097:blood*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D019014:fas Receptor / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: C505661:FASLG protein, human; D053222:Fas Ligand Protein; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D019014:fas Receptor