title: Serum soluble Fas/APO-1 is increased in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.
abstract: The aim of the study was to elucidate the involvement of Fas antigen in human autoimmune disease, by analysing serum levels of soluble Fas/APO-1 protein in patients with various autoimmune diseases, including system lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic sclerosis (SSc), polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM), Behçet's syndrome and Sjögren's syndrome (SjS). The levels of soluble Fas/APO-1 in sera were quantitated by a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Soluble Fas/APO-1 levels were significantly increased in serum from patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (primary SjS) compared with control subjects. However, no significant differences in soluble Fas/APO-1 levels were noted in patients with secondary Sjögren's syndrome (secondary SjS) nor in patients with any of the other autoimmune diseases. The soluble Fas/APO-1 level in primary SjS patients with extraglandular diseases was significantly higher than that in patients without extraglandular diseases. These results suggest that soluble Fas/APO-1 protein may play an important role in the pathogenesis of primary SS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Tokyo Dental College, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujihara
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsubota
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kayagaki
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yagita
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okumura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D019014:fas Receptor / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D019014:fas Receptor