Lack of correlation between clinical characteristics and serum soluble Fas ligand levels in patients with multiple myeloma.
Multiple myeloma is characterized by the accumulation of malignant plasma cells in the bone marrow and rarely cured by chemotherapy. Villunger et al. showed that the neoplastic plasma cells express Fas ligand (FasL), which transmits a signal of apoptosis upon ligation to Fas, and suggested that the FasL suppresses the T-cells activated against malignant cells, resulting in escape from tumour immunity. We examined serum soluble FasL (sFasL) levels in 35 multiple myeloma patients to evaluate the correlation between sFasL levels and clinical characteristics. The serum sFasL levels were not affected by the disease status, serum monoclonal protein levels, or other prognostic factors. We could not determine whether the expression of FasL is involved in the poor clinical course of the disease.
Kanda
Y
Y
Department of Hematology, International Medical Center of Japan, Tokyo. ycanda-tky@umin.ac.jp
Ara
C
C
Chizuka
A
A
Yamamoto
R
R
Hamaki
T
T
Suguro
M
M
Matsuyama
T
T
Takezako
N
N
Miwa
A
A
Tohma
J
J
Shirakawa
K
K
Yatomi
T
T
Nakamura
N
N
Hirai
H
H
Togawa
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001798:Blood Proteins; D053222:Fas Ligand Protein; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000097:blood; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D009194:Myeloma Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012995:Solubility; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
D001798:Blood Proteins; C505661:FASLG protein, human; D053222:Fas Ligand Protein; D007136:Immunoglobulins; C009823:M-proteins (Myeloma); D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D009194:Myeloma Proteins