Expression of functional Fas on monocytes in patients with lupus nephritis / 中华肾脏病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To elucidate the mechanism of accelerated apoptosis of monocytes in patients with lupus nephritis (LN). Methods 17 LN patients were enrolled in the study and 15 healthy volunteers were selected as controls. The expression of Faa and Fas ligand (FasL) was examined by immunofluorescent staining and flow cytometer analysis. The apoptosis and survival rate of monocytes cultured in vitro with human FasL (rHu-FasL) was analyzed by flow cytometer analysis and 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) staining, respectively. Results Faa expression on monocytes was significantly higher in LN patients than that in healthy subjects. There was no difference of monocytes Fas expression between active LN patients and silent LN patients. There was no detectable FasL expression on monocytes from both LN patients and healthy controls. When monocytes cultured in vitro with rHu-FasL, there was a significantly increasing apoptosis and a decreasing survival rate of monocytes in LN patients as compared to healthy controls. Conclusion The up-regulated expression of functional Fas on monocytes may contribute to the accelerated apoptosis of monocytes in LN patients.