Circulating Levels of Soluble Fas Ligand in Cachexic Patients with COPD are higher than those in Non-Cachexic Patients with COPD

Objective Apoptosis may be involved in the pathophysiology of cachexia in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The purpose of this study is to assess the potential role of the Fas-Fas ligand (FasL) system in cachexic patients with COPD. Patients and Methods We measured the circulating levels of soluble FasL (sFasL), with a newly developed, highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay system in seventy patients with COPD and forty-seven control subjects. Results The levels of sFasL in the COPD patients were significantly lower than those in the control subjects (46±29 vs. 55±28 pg/ml; p