Postpartum-activation of multiple sclerosis is associated with down-regulation of tolerogenic HLA-G.
We used microarray analysis to obtain insights into the immuno-regulatory mechanisms controlling pregnancy-associated MS disease activity. We studied expression levels of 5000 immune-related genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with relapsing-remitting MS during pregnancy and postpartum and in comparison to controls. In the microarray analysis, HLA-G, a non-classical major histocompatibility molecule mainly attributed with immune-tolerogenic functions, was found differentially regulated between MS patients and controls. The finding was corroborated and extended by real-time PCR, flow-cytometry and ELISA in a larger patient sample. The results delineate an important role for the immune-tolerogenic molecule HLA-G in modulating disease activity and pregnancy-related changes in MS patients.
Airas
Laura
L
Department of Neurology and MediCity Research Laboratory, University of Turku, PO Box 52, 20521Turku, Finland. laura.airas@utu.fi
Nikula
Tuomas
T
Huang
Yu-Hwa
YH
Lahesmaa
Riitta
R
Wiendl
Heinz
H
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000378:metabolism*; D059951:HLA-G Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D006680:HLA Antigens; D059951:HLA-G Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I