Soluble Fas ligand and soluble Fas in ocular fluid of patients with uveitis

Aims-To investigate the presence of soluble Fas ligand (sFasL) and soluble Fas (sFas) in ocular fluid of patients with uveitis. Methods-Samples of aqueous humour (AH, n=17), vitreous fluid (n=9), and ser um (n=60) were collected from patients with uveitis which included Behcet's disease, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease, sarcoidosis, human T lymphotropic v irus type 1 (HTLV-I) uveitis, sympathetic ophthalmia, HLA-B27 associated ac ute anterior uveitis, and ocular toxoplasmosis. The AH of patients with age related cataract without uveitis obtained during cataract surgery was used as controls (n=20). The amounts of sFasL and sFas were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Results-Significant amounts of sFasL were detected in AH of patients with a ge related cataract (non-uveitis group). sFasL was also detected in AH of p atients with uveitis, though the amounts were slightly lower than those in the non-uveitis group. On the other hand, the levels of sFas in AH of patie nts with uveitis were significantly higher than those in controls. As for t he disease activity, the levels of sFasL and sFas in the vitreous fluid of patients with active uveitis were significantly higher than those in inacti ve uveitis. sFasL in the serum of healthy donors and patients with uveitis was below detectable levels, except for patients with HTLV-I uveitis who ha d significant amounts of sFasL in the serum. The levels of sFas in the seru m of patients with Behcet's disease, sarcoidosis, and HTLV-I uveitis were s ignificantly higher than those of healthy donors. Conclusions-sFasL is present in the AH of non-uveitic eyes with age related cataract. Intraocular levels of sFasL and sFas are significantly increased in uveitis, particularly in active uveitis. These data suggest that intrao cular sFasL and sFas may have a regulatory role in uveitis.