title: Characterization of HLA-G expression in renal cell carcinoma.
abstract: Previous studies showed that human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G is specifically upregulated in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, a larger cohort of RCC patients are necessary to obtain more information. In this study, 109 RCC primary lesions (clear cell, n = 95; chromophobe, n = 4; papillary, n = 4; collecting duct, n = 6) and corresponding adjacent tumor-negative renal tissues (n = 34) were analyzed for the HLA-G expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Meanwhile, plasma soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) from 16 RCC patients and 144 sex- and age-matched normal individuals was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Correlations between lesion HLA-G expression and various clinical parameters were evaluated. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the feasibility of HLA-G protein staining and sHLA-G as a diagnosis marker for RCC. IHC data showed that HLA-G was observed in 49.5% of clear cell, 50% of either chromophobe or collecting duct RCC lesions but undetectable in papillary RCC and tumor-negative renal tissues. This finding was consistent with the western blot results. sHLA-G was pronouncedly increased in RCC patients when compared with normal controls (median: 39.5 vs 19.2 U/ml, P = 0.002). However, no correlation was observed between HLA-G expression and various clinical parameters. We found that the area under ROC curve for HLA-G expression and sHLA-G was 0.739 [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.659-0.816, P = 0.000] and 0.733 (95% CI: 0.619-0.847, P = 0.002), respectively. Our findings indicated that, except the papillary RCC, other types of RCC could express HLA-G. Furthermore, both lesion HLA-G expression and plasma sHLA-G level might be a useful preoperative biomarker for diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Center, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou Medical College, Linhai, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: B-L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: X-J
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: J-G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: W-J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: H-X
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: T-J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: W-H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Yan
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000276:immunology*; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D059951:HLA-G Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D012995:Solubility
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D006680:HLA Antigens; D059951:HLA-G Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II