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Increased circulating soluble form of Fas in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy

H Kawakami1, Y Shigematsu, T Ohtsuka

  • 1The Second Department of Internal Medicine, Ehime University School of Medicine, Japan.

Japanese Circulation Journal
|January 16, 1999
PubMed

Insights

Circulating soluble Fas (sFas) levels are elevated in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) patients and correlate with heart failure severity. Higher sFas may indicate a better prognosis, independent of heart geometry.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Immunology
  • Biomarkers

Background:

  • Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a significant cause of heart failure.
  • The prognostic role of circulating soluble Fas (sFas) in DCM remains unclear.
  • Fas pathway dysregulation is implicated in various cardiovascular diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prognostic value of circulating soluble Fas (sFas) in patients with DCM.
  • To assess the relationship between sFas levels and heart failure severity.
  • To determine if sFas provides prognostic information independent of left ventricular geometry.

Main Methods:

  • Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure circulating sFas levels.
  • 33 DCM patients and 12 age-matched normal controls (NC) were included.
  • DCM patients were stratified into two groups based on sFas levels relative to NC mean + 2SD.

Main Results:

  • Circulating sFas levels were significantly higher in DCM patients compared to NC (2.42±1.02 vs 1.66±0.20 ng/ml, p=0.015).
  • Elevated sFas levels correlated positively with heart failure severity and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure in DCM.
  • Group II (lower sFas) experienced 5 deaths from heart failure, while Group I (higher sFas) had no deaths during follow-up.

Conclusions:

  • Circulating sFas levels are elevated in DCM patients.
  • sFas levels increase proportionally with heart failure severity.
  • Circulating sFas may serve as an independent prognostic marker in DCM, irrespective of left ventricular dimensions.

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