Death receptor Fas and autoimmune disease: from the original generation to therapeutic application of agonistic anti-Fas monoclonal antibody.

Fas antigen (Fas) is a cell surface receptor molecule introducing apoptosis-inducing signals into Fas-bearing cells by stimulation with Fas ligand or agonistic anti-Fas monoclonal antibodies. Fas system has been implicated in the regulation of homeostasis of peripheral T and B lymphocytes including elimination of autoreactive cells, and in the exclusion of tumor and virus-infected cells. Fas system, however, also plays a role in the mechanisms responsible for tissue disruption in tissue-specific autoimmune disease and fulminant hepatitis. In this review, I describe how we prepared the original anti-human Fas monoclonal antibody with associated cell-killing activity, and I propose here a strategy of therapeutic use of a novel anti-Fas monoclonal antibody for autoimmune and other diseases.