Soluble Fas in Serum of Patients with HIV/AIDS

In HIV infection, the mechanism of destruction of the CD4+ 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 marker for CD4 cell destruction.Sera were obtained from 60 HIV/AIDS patients in Chiang Mai, Thailand and stored at −20 °C until use. Serum sFas was measured by ELISA (Medical & Biological Laboratories) according to the manufacturer’s instructions (2). Briefly, serum or calibrator …