Relationships of soluble APO-1 (Fas/CD95) concentrations, obesity, and serum lipid parameters in healthy adults

To investigate the relationships of apoptosis with obesity and lipid parameters, we measured serum soluble APO-1 (sAPO-1) concentrations, body mass index (BMI), and serum lipid profiles in 176 healthy adults. Serum sAPO-1 levels were measured by enzyme immunoassay. There were no significant differences in mean sAPO-1 concentrations between men and women, nor between subjects with and without obesity. However, women with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) <50.2 mg/dl exhibited significantly higher sAPO-1 concentrations than those with HDL-C >50.2 mg/dl (ie, 45.6 +/- 10.4 pg/ml vs 31.5 +/- 11.3 pg/ml, p <0.05). Serum sAPO-1 concentrations averaged 46.8 +/- 10.7 pg/ml in women with serum triglyceride >137.4 mg/dl, which was significantly above the mean value (32.6 +/- 12.0 pg/ml, p <0.05) in those with serum triglyceride <137.4 mg/dl. Men with elevated sAPO-1 concentrations showed significantly higher waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and total body fat (TBF) compared to those with diminished sAPO-1 levels, although no differences were noted in mean values of lipid profiles between the 2 groups of men. Serum sAPO-1 concentrations correlated significantly with HDL-C (r = - 0.41, p <0.05) and triglyceride (r = 0.35, p <0.05) in women and WHR (r = 0.25, p <0.05) and TBF (r = 0.21, p <0.05) in men. In conclusion, serum sAPO-1 appears to have an important relationship to serum lipid levels and body adiposity in healthy adults.