Fas and Fas Ligand polymorphisms in human cancer: their effect in cervical cancer

Abstract

Apoptosis is the major component of programmed cell death, an essential process in embryogenesis, tissue turnover and proper function of the immune system. Lack of appropriate control is thought to play an important role in several pathologies, such as autoimmune diseases, AIDS and cancer. In malignant tumors, cells gradually acquire resistance to apoptosis and, moreover, develop mechanisms that could induce death cell in immune cells. Emerging interest has given to the Fas/Fas Ligand interaction, a system that triggers the extrinsic pathway of the apoptosis process. Polymorphisms on Fas and FasL have been extensively described. Single nucleotide polymorphisms located in the promoter region of these genes have been found to be related to differential levels of expression. This review discusses the information published on Fas/Fas Ligand polymorphisms and its effect on human cancers, and also presents new data regarding the impact of Fas-670A/G and FasL-844T/C polymorphisms in a cervical cancer case control study from women of La Plata, Argentina.