查看文章

Background—Fas (APO-1/CD95) is a transmembrane receptor belonging to the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily. Cross-linking of Fas by Fas ligand (FasL), a tumor necrosis factor-α–related cytokine, promotes apoptosis and/or transcription factor activation in a highly cell-type–specific manner. The biological consequences of Fas activation in cardiomyocytes and the regulation of Fas and FasL abundance in the myocardium in vivo remain largely unknown.

Methods and Results—As shown by immunohistochemistry, Fas was expressed on the sarcolemma of cardiomyocytes in left ventricular tissue sections. Moreover, FasL was constitutively expressed in the myocardium and in isolated cardiomyocytes, as revealed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. Left ventricular abundance of Fas but not FasL was upregulated in a rat model of compensated volume-overload …