Serum Levels of Soluble Fas and Fas Ligand in Iranian Women with Pre-eclampsia

Background: The precise responsible mechanism of pre-eclampsia remains controversial however, recent data suggest a main role of the abnormal activation of the adaptive immune system and Apoptosis. In this study, we have measured serum levels of Fas/Fasl as two important members of extrinsic apoptotic pathway in patient with pre-eclampsia. Methods: 207 participants including 99 pre-eclampsia patients and 108 age and sex-matched normal pregnant women were involved in the case-control study. Plasma sample from each participant was collected and stored at -20 degrees C until batch processing. Serum levels of Fas and Fas ligand were measured by ELISA for each participant including 99 pre-eclampsia patients and 108 normal pregnant women. Following a test of statistical normality, nonparametric data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney. Results: sFas levels in case group was significantly higher than controls; 584 (397-892) pg/ml in cases opposed to 341 (213-602) pg/ml in controls (p value< 0.01). sFasL in pre-eclampsia women was a little lower than controls; 255 (173-318) pg/ml and in case group compared to 265.5 (184-381.5) pg/ml in controls. Conclusions: We have found the increased levels of sFas in patients with pre-eclampsia in compare with the healthy pregnant women. It seems that abnormality in sFAS is related with pre-eclampsia.

Automated summary

This study measured serum levels of Fas/Fasl in patients with pre-eclampsia and found that sFas levels were significantly higher in patients compared to healthy pregnant women, while sFasL levels were slightly lower. The abnormality in sFas may be related to pre-eclampsia.