title: Expression of human leukocyte antigen-G in systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the expression of human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and its relation with interleukin-10 (IL-10) production. The study included 50 female SLE patients and 59 healthy female donors. HLA-G expression in peripheral blood and cutaneous biopsies was determined by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) and IL-10 were quantified in serum samples by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. SLE patients presented with serum sHLA-G and IL-10 levels significantly higher than that observed in controls (median [interquartile range (IQR)] = 43.6 U/ml [23.2-150.2] vs 26.84 U/ml [6.0-45.2], p = 0.004; and 1.4 pg/ml [0-2.3] vs 0 pg/ml [0-1.5], p = 0.01, respectively). But no correlation was observed between sHLA-G and both IL-10 levels and the disease activity index for SLE patients. The expression of membrane HLA-G in peripheral lymphocytes from SLE patients was low, but higher than in controls (median [IQR] = 1.5% [0.6-1.8] and 0.3% [0.2-0.8], respectively; p = 0.02). Finally, these findings were in accordance with the weak expression of HLA-G in skin biopsies. Despite the fact that patients present higher levels of HLA-G than healthy controls, which suggests a possible relevance of this molecule in SLE, it seems not to be related to IL-10 production or disease activity.
authors.affiliation: Fundacion LAIR, Madrid, Spain. silvia060500@yahoo.es
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rosado
authors.forename: Gema
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Perez-Chacon
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mellor-Pita
authors.forename: Inmaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Vegazo
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bellas-Menendez
authors.forename: Maria Jesus
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Citores
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Losada-Fernandez
authors.forename: Trinidad
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Martin-Donaire
authors.forename: Nerea
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rebolleda
authors.forename: Paloma
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Perez-Aciego
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D005260:Female; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D059951:HLA-G Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012867:Skin / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens; D059951:HLA-G Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D016753:Interleukin-10