PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Liphaus, Bernadete Lourdes
AU  - Kiss, Maria Helena Bittencourt
AU  - Carrasco, Solange
AU  - Goldenstein-Schainberg, Claudia
TI  - Increased Fas and Bcl-2 expression on peripheral mononuclear cells from patients with active juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus.
DP  - 2007 Jul 01
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - 1580--1584
VI  - 34
IP  - 7
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/34/7/1580.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/34/7/1580.full
SO  - J Rheumatol2007 Jul 01; 34
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To determine expressions of Fas and Bcl-2 on peripheral blood T and B lymphocytes from patients with juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE). METHODS: Thirty-eight patients with JSLE and 21 healthy controls were studied. Eleven JSLE patients with SLEDAI score >or= 8 were categorized as active. Freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stained for lymphocyte markers CD3, CD4, CD8, and CD19 and for Fas and Bcl-2 molecules. Cell protein expression was measured by 3-color flow cytometry. RESULTS: Percentages of lymphocytes positively stained for Fas antigen and cytoplasmic expression of Bcl-2 measured by mean fluorescence intensity from patients were significantly increased compared to controls on CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells. Patients with active disease had higher percentages of CD19+ B cells positive for Fas antigen compared to patients with inactive lupus. A direct statistical correlation was observed between Fas and Bcl-2 expression on CD19+ B cells and SLE Disease Activity Index score. CONCLUSION: Patients with juvenile-onset SLE show upregulation of apoptosis-related proteins. Patients with active and inactive disease have a different profile of Fas and Bcl-2 expression.