Premium
Apoptosis in rheumatoid arthritis – expression of Fas, Fas‐L, p53, and Bcl‐2 in rheumatoid synovial tissues
Author(s) -
Chou ChungTei,
Yang JiaSing,
Lee MiamRong
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
the journal of pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.964
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1096-9896
pISSN - 0022-3417
DOI - 10.1002/1096-9896(2000)9999:9999<::aid-path746>3.0.co;2-k
Subject(s) - tunel assay , apoptosis , rheumatoid arthritis , immunohistochemistry , fas ligand , medicine , fas receptor , cancer research , pathology , arthritis , immunology , chemistry , biology , programmed cell death , biochemistry
Recent studies have suggested that apoptosis is one of the pathogenetic mechanisms in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this study, by using single and double immunohistochemical staining assays, Fas, Fas‐L, p53, and Bcl‐2 were measured simultaneously in RA and osteoarthritic (OA) and post‐traumatic (PT) synovial tissues (ST) in order to understand the distribution of these apoptosis‐related proteins. The TdT‐mediated dUTP‐biotin nick end labelling (TUNEL) method was performed to detect apoptotic cells. There was a significant increase of Fas, Fas‐L, and p53 in RA ST, compared with OA or PT, but no significant difference of Bcl‐2 expression was detected between patient groups. In RA ST, expression of Fas and p53 was detected in sub‐lining layers and the majority of Fas‐ and p53‐expressing cells were fibroblast‐like synoviocytes. A positive correlation between Fas and p53 was demonstrated in RA ST. In RA ST, one‐third of Fas‐positive and 80% of p53‐positive cells were also TUNEL‐positive. These results indicate that apoptosis in RA is strongly associated with the expression of Fas and p53, but not Bcl‐2. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.