Previously we reported that the consecutive injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into LPS-sensitized mice for the generalized Shwartzman reaction (GSR) appeared to induce the injury of renal tubular epithelial cells via apoptosis. The aim of this study was to characterize the mechanism of renal tubular epithelial cell injury in GSR. The expression of Fas and Fas ligand was immunohistochemicall...

Fas is type I membrane protein, expressed on various tissue including hematopoietic cell. Its ligand (FasL), a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family, which includes two forms of a membrane-bound form and a soluble one, induces apoptosis of Fas-bearing cells through cytotoxic activity. FasL is undetectable in the serum of healthy person, whereas it is high in that from patients with T...

In the present study, we have evaluated the apoptotic effect of soluble human MHC class I (sHLA-I) antigens on CD8(+) T lymphocytes. sHLA-I antigens and beta(2)-microglobulin-free HLA class I heavy chains, isolated from serum, induced apoptosis on phytohemagglutinin-activated CD8(+) T lymphocytes in autologous and allogeneic combinations. The extent of CD8(+) T cell apoptosis depends on the deg...

Because of the low proliferative potential of tumor cells in patients with Sézary syndrome (SzS), their accumulation has been suggested to be due to defective regulation of apoptosis. We analyzed the sensitivity to soluble Fas-ligand (FasL) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), 2 members of the TNF superfamily in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) from patien...

BACKGROUND The Fas ligand/Fas receptor (FasL/Fas) system is an important mediator of apoptosis in the immune system where the juxtaposition of cells expressing the cell-surface ligand induces the apoptotic pathway in Fas-expressing lymphocytes. The FasL/Fas system has also been shown to be involved in apoptosis in epithelial tissues, including the involuting rodent prostate. FasL can be shed th...

We investigated the role of Fas ligand in murine silicosis. Wild-type mice instilled with silica developed severe pulmonary inflammation, with local production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and interstitial neutrophil and macrophage infiltration in the lungs. Strikingly, Fas ligand-deficient generalized lymphoproliferative disease mutant (gld) mice did not develop silicosis. The gld mic...

Binding of ligand FasL to its receptor Fas triggers apoptosis via the caspase cascade. FasL itself is homotrimeric, and a productive apoptotic signal requires that FasL be oligomerized beyond the homotrimeric state. We generated a series of FasL chimeras by fusing FasL to domains of the Leukemia Inhibitory Factor receptor gp190 which confer homotypic oligomerization, and analyzed the capacity o...

BACKGROUND Superantigens are among the most potent T-cell mitogens known. Since T-cell activation and T-cell-derived cytokines play a role in the immune response associated with intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) application, this study was initiated to explore the fundamental aspects of a potential new immunomodulatory therapy for superficial bladder cancer. Since Superantigen-induced...

Retroviruses have been widely used in gene transmission studies. In this paper, we show that nonviral apoptotic proteins can be displayed on viral membrane surfaces and that the displayed proteins can execute their normal effector functions. We introduced the genes encoding the apoptosis effector proteins, human CD95 ligand (hFasL) or human tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligan...