engleski

Soluble fas (sfas) and transforming factor beta-2 in acute viral and bacterial zoonosis infections

Fas is signal receptor molecule expressed by almost all cell types, which can be released during apoptosis in a soluble circulating form (sFas). Transforming factor beta (TGF-ß) is multifunctional cytokine responsible for different mechanisms: cell cycle control, differentiation and morphogenesis, extracellular matrix production, hemathopoesis, angiogenesis, different immunoreactions and regulation of apoptosis. Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), leptospirosis, Lyme borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) are important public health problems in Croatia. However, the effects of the pathogens causing these diseases on the sFas and TGF-ß status during pathogenesis are not fully understood. In this study, we determined sFas and TGF-ß2 levels in patients with these diseases. Serum samples were obtained from patients hospitalized at the University Clinic for Infectious Diseases, Zagreb, Croatia with serological diagnoses of HFRS (n=20), leptospirosis (n=9), Lyme borreliosis (n=7), or TBE (n=7). Serum samples from eight healthy individuals were tested as the controls. The sFas levels were measured using ELISA-set (OptEIA tm Set: Human sFas, Pharmingen, San Diego, CA, USA), according to the manufacturer’ s protocol. TGF-ß2 levels were measured using ELISA kit (Quantikine Human TGF-ß2 Immunoassay, R&D Systems Inc. Minneapolis, MN, USA) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. Significant increase in the levels of sFas was found in all patients with acute viral or bacterial zoonosis in comparison to healthy controls. The patients with TBE or Lyme borreliosis had significantly lower levels than patients with leptospirosis, who had the highest levels of sFas. In contrary, patients with TBE or Lyme borreliosis had significantly higher levels of TGF-ß2 than healthy controls. Although we detected some increase of TGF-ß2 in patients with HFRS or leptospirosis there were no significant increase in comparison to healthy controls. Our data indicate that increase of sFas and TGF-ß2 levels may have a role in the immunopathogenesis of tested viral and bacterial zoonosis. The increased levels of sFas in acute phase of diseases and during the whole course of HFRS indicated it’ s possible anti-apoptotic role and maintance of physiologic homeostasis. TGF-ß2 may have dual, pro- and anti-apoptotic role, however we need more data for such conclusion.

soluble-(s)Fas; TGF-ß2; apoptosis; zoonoses

Rad je kao poster prezentiran i na skupu he XIII Internetional Congress of Virology (IUMS 2005) Microbes in a Changing World, održanom od 23.-28.07.2005., San Francisco, SAD ; objavljen u Knjizi sažetaka, str. 170-170.