title: Janus head: the dual role of HLA-G in CNS immunity.
abstract: The central nervous system (CNS) is considered an immune-privileged organ that maintains an adaptable immune surveillance system. Dysregulated immune function within the CNS contributes to the development of brain tumor growth, and robust immune activation results in excessive inflammation. Human lymphocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) proteins with tolerogenic immunoreactivity have been implicated in various pathophysiological processes including immune surveillance, governing homeostasis and immune regulation. In this review, we describe the wealth of evidence for the involvement of HLA-G in the CNS under physiological and pathological conditions. Further, we review regulatory functions that may be applicable as beneficial strategies in the therapeutic manipulation of immune-mediated CNS immune responses. Additionally, we try to understand how this molecule cooperates with other CNS-resident cells to maintain normal immune homeostasis, while still facilitating the development of the appropriate immune responses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Inflammatory Disorders of Nervous System and Neurooncology, University of Müenster, Domagkstr. 13, 48149 Müenster, Germany.
authors.forename: Yu-Hwa
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Airas
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schwab
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wiendl
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D059951:HLA-G Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens; D059951:HLA-G Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I