Expression of Fas (CD95) and Bcl-2 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with chronic HCV and schistosomiasis

A high incidence of viral persistence and progression to chronic hepatitis are characteristic features of HCV infection. The aim of this case control study was to investigate the expression of the apoptosis related proteins Fas (CD95) and Bcl-2 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with chronic HCV and schistosomiasis, and to evaluate their contribution in the development and maintenance of the different clinical forms of these diseases. The level of Fas and Bcl-2 expression in PBMCs was detected using flow cytometry in 85 cases in this study, including chronic HCV (40 patients) and schistosomiasis (25 patients) in addition to 20 healthy controls. Results showed that the increased apoptotic level correlated with increased Fas expression on the surface of PBMCs in chronic HCV patients (p = 0.001) which did not show increased expression of the anti-apoptotic factor Bcl-2 (p = 0.19). Apoptotic PBMCs in intestinal schistosomiasis patients showed increased expression of Fas (p = 0.001) but again did not exhibit a difference in Bcl-2 expression (p = 0.61) when compared to either hepatoplenic schistosomiasis or control patients. The Fas expression was highly significant in HCV > schistosomiasis > control (p < 0.002) while non-significant difference was found between the 3 groups as regards to Bcl-2 expression (p > 0.12). It was concluded that the detection of apoptosis of PBMCs in patients with chronic HCV was associated with increased expression of apoptotic markers in comparison with schistosomiasis patients, which may be an indicator of disease progression and severity. Modulation of this process may offer valuable methods of HCV therapy.