Although it is known that septic shock induces immunosuppression, the mechanism for this phenomenon is not well understood. Monocytes play a central role in septic shock pathophysiology, which is also characterized by an increased proportion of natural regulatory T (Treg) cells. We therefore investigated whether Treg could be involved in the decreased monocyte expression of CD14 and HLA-DR obse...

Anticancer therapy for solid tumors suffers from inadequate methods for the localized administration of cytotoxic agents. Fas ligand (FasL) has been reported to be cytotoxic to a variety of cells, including certain tumor cell lines. We therefore postulated that myoblasts could serve as non-transformed gene therapy vehicles for the continuous localized delivery of cytotoxic anticancer agents suc...

To the Editor: In HIV infection, the mechanism of destruction of the CD41 T cells is unknown. Apoptosis may play an important role in the pathogenesis of HIV. One apoptotic pathway is mediated through the Fas-Fas ligand pathway. Soluble Fas (sFas) in serum is thought to act as an inhibitor of Fas-Fas ligand binding and to block Fas-mediated apoptosis (1 ). We studied the role of sFas as a marke...

The intraerythrocytic stage of the simian malaria parasite Plasmodium coatneyi (CDC strain) was intravenously inoculated into two species of macaques with different susceptibilities to infection with this parasite, including four Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) and three cynomolgus macaques (M. fascicularis). The Japanese macaques infected with P. coatneyi developed severe clinical manifesta...

Accumulation of misfolded proteins as insoluble aggregates occurs in several neurodegenerative diseases. In Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), alpha-synuclein (alpha S) accumulates in insoluble inclusions. To identify soluble alpha S oligomers that precede insoluble aggregates, we probed the cytosols of mesencephalic neuronal (MES) cells, normal and alpha S-transgenic...

background: human cornea expresses functional fas-ligand capable of killing fas+ activated lymphocytes. fas expression is partly regulated by -670 a/g polymorphism in the promoter region of fas gene. objective: the aim of the present study is to determine the association between fas-670a/g polymorphism and survival of corneal transplantation. methods: in 276 graft recipients who mainly underwen...

Accessible online at: www.karger.com/res The paper by Salama et al. [1, this issue of Respiration] correlating elevated serum Fas levels with cor pulmonale in schistosomiasis (caused by a subgroup of trematodes – flukes) may have broad implications for respiratory physicians. The Fas receptor and Fas ligand (CD95) system, being respectively related to the TNF-receptor (R) and the TNF families, ...