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Lack of correlation between serum soluble Fas/APO-1 levels and autoimmune disease
N Goel1, D T Ulrich, E W St Clair
1Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
Objective:
To determine whether elevated soluble Fas/APO-1 (sFas/APO-1) levels are associated with either autoimmune disease or evidence of flares in autoimmune disease.
Methods:
Thirty-seven serum samples were retrospectively obtained from normal controls and patients with laboratory evidence of autoimmune disease activity. These samples were assayed for sFas/APO-1 levels by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and hospital medical records were retrospectively reviewed for clinical and laboratory characteristics of the patients.
Results:
Soluble Fas/APO-1 levels did not correlate with clinical diagnoses or laboratory abnormalities. The mean and range of sFas/APO-1 levels were similar in systemic lupus erythematosus patients (including those with active disease), patients with other autoimmune diseases, and normal controls.
Conclusion:
These data strongly suggest that measurement of sFas/APO-1 levels is unlikely to hold clinical value or play a role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease.