CASP9 and systemic lupus erythematosus: To determine the expression levels of molecules involved in apoptosis pathways in female patients we studied 23 female SLE patients and 10 age matched female controls and demonstrated that the expression levels of FasL, caspase 8, and caspase 9 in female patients were significantly lower than female controls (0.37R versus o.82R for FasL, 0.45R versus 1.6R for caspase 8, and 0.63R versus 1.56R for caspase 9) (P <0.05), but there were no significant differences in the expression levels of Fas and Bcl-2 between female patients and female controls (Figure 4).