title: Serum-soluble Fas antigen level in patients with allergic rhinitis: its relation to specific immunotherapy.
abstract: There have been conflicting reports on the relationship between Fas/Fas ligand-mediated apoptosis and allergic response. Specific immunotherapy (SIT) is widely used for treatment of allergic diseases. It has long been apparent that SIT results in a reduction in antigen-specific lymphoproliferation, but it is unclear by what mechanism T-cell responses are inhibited by SIT in vivo. In this study, we examined serum-soluble Fas (sFas) levels in patients with allergic rhinitis and healthy subjects. We also examined the effect of SIT on sFas level. Seventy-two patients with allergic rhinitis and 20 healthy subjects were included in this study. Twenty-eight patients were newly diagnosed and 44 patients were treated with SIT for a 5-year or 7-year duration. Serum sFas levels were measured by a sandwich enzyme-linked immunoassay. Mean serum sFas level was 7931 +/- 2861 pg/mL in newly diagnosed patients with allergic rhinitis during the pollen season, 8426 +/- 2846 pg/mL in patients with allergic rhinitis treated by SIT for a 5-year duration, 8490 +/- 2256 pg/mL in patients with allergic rhinitis treated by SIT for a 7-year duration, and 7493 +/- 3450 pg/mL in healthy subjects. Serum sFas level was not found to be significantly different among the study groups (p > 0.05). These findings suggest that there is no relation between sFas level and the etiopathogenesis of allergic inflammation in patients with allergic rhinitis and mechanism of action of SIT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Ankara University Medical School, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gülay
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kinikli
authors.forename: Aşkin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ateş
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Turgay
authors.forename: Nergis
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aydoğan
authors.forename: Güner
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tokgöz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D019014:fas Receptor / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D019014:fas Receptor