Cervical carcinoma cell apoptosis and the expression of Fas and Fas ligand in human being

Objective: To investigate the expression of Fas and Fas ligand and their relationships with apoptosis in human cervical carcinoma. Methods: The immunohistochemical staining method and S-P method were used to investigate the expression of Fas and Fas ligand in 47 cases of cervical carcinoma, 16 cases of cervical interaepithelial neoplasia, 10 cases of chronic cervicitis and 10 cases of normal cervix. TUNEL technique was used to observe the apoptotic cells and the expression of Fas and Fas ligand in 47 cases of cervical carcinoma. Results: The expression of Fas and Fas ligand was not only significantly different in different cervix(P < 0.01), but also related to the degree of differentiation; Cervical carcinoma cells apoptosis was also related to the degree of differentiation and clinical stage(P < 0.05). Cervical carcinoma cell apoptosis was significantly higher in Fas-positive and FasL-positive than that in Fas-negative and FasL-negative(P < 0.05). Conclusion: The development of apoptosis in cervical carcinoma has a promoting regulation function to Fas and Fas ligand expression, gene treatment can alter apoptotic abnormality, thus induce apoptosis in cancerous cell expressing Fas and Fas ligand.