title: Pulmonary lesions and serum levels of soluble Fas (sCD95) in former hard coal miners.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Fas/APO-1 (CD95) and Fas Ligand (FasL) is a major mediator system that activates programmed cell death (apoptosis) and is most important for pulmonary cellular homeostasis. Another form of Fas, circulating soluble Fas (sCD95), produced by alternative mRNA splicing antagonizes the cell-surface Fas function. It was the aim of the study to test the hypothesis that the Fas/FasL system is implicated in the development of silica-induced pulmonary nodular lesions.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated the serum levels of sCD95 in 55 former hard coal miners. Coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) was assumed when the profusion of small round opacities according to the ILO 2000 classification system was 1/1 or greater. Analyses of sCD95 were performed by a sandwich ELISA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Radiologic CWP was found in 34 of the 55 individuals. The age of subjects with and without CWP was similar (73.5 (SD 7.2) years vs. 73.5 (7.1) years; P = 0.924). sCD95 could be quantified in all samples; significantly higher levels were observed in subjects with radiologic signs of CWP (914 (752-1251) pg/ml vs. 632 (509-804) pg/ml, P < 0.001). However, there was no relationship between sCD95 serum concentrations and the quantity of profusion according to ILO.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The hypothesis of elevated sCD95 concentrations in CWP was corroborated. The usefulness of sCD95 for prevention and diagnosis of CWP and other forms of silica-induced fibrosis needs to be established by epidemiological studies.
authors.affiliation: Institute of the Ruhr-University, Bochum, Germany. hoffmeyer@ipa-dguv.de
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hoffmeyer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Borowitzki
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Merget
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bünger
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brüning
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raulf-Heimsoth
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D055008:Anthracosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D017209:Apoptosis; D003032:Coal Mining; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019014:fas Receptor / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: C491901:FAS protein, human; D019014:fas Receptor