Fas (Apo-1/CD95) is a cell membrane receptor involved in apoptotic cell dea
th. Soluble variant forms (sFas) lacking the transmembrane domain due to al
ternative splicing have been identified, Up-regulation of sFas expression i
s reportedly implicated in prereceptorial blockage of Fas-induced apoptosis
in a dose-dependent manner. We examined mRNA expression of Fas and sFas in
fresh leukemia cells, All leukemia cells expressed both mRNAs of full-leng
th Fas (FasFull) and sFas with deletion of exon6 (FasDel6). The ratio of Fa
sFull/FasDel6 mRNA expression was not always correlated with Fas-mediated g
rowth inhibition, interestingly, in a 6-year-old boy with acute myelogenous
leukemia, blast cells obtained at onset and at the time of bone marrow rel
apses expressed distinct amounts of FasDel6 mRNA, Furthermore, the level of
FasDel6 expression appeared to be correlated with Fas-resistance in leukem
ia blasts. In addition, sFas protein levels were elevated in patients' sera
at onset with subsequent return to normal levels after complete remission.
These results indicated that sFas could be synthesized and released by leu
kemia blasts and suggested that up-regulation of Fas variant transcript mig
ht render leukemia blasts resistant to Fas-mediated growth inhibition in ce
rtain cases. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.