title: Plasma soluble human leukocyte antigen-G expression is a potential clinical biomarker in patients with hepatitis B virus infection.
abstract: The significance of upregulated soluble human leukocyte antigen-G (sHLA-G) expression under various pathologic conditions has been discussed. In this study, we evaluated the potential significance of plasma sHLA-G expression in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The study included 90 acute hepatitis B patients (AHB), 131 chronic hepatitis B patients (CHB), 152 resolved hepatitis B individuals (RHB), and 129 normal controls. sHLA-G were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the feasibility of plasma sHLA-G as a biomarker for distinguishing patients with HBV infection. sHLA-G levels in AHB (median, 193.1 U/mL; p < 0.001), CHB (median, 324.6 U/mL; p < 0.001), and RHB (median, 14.8 U/mL; p = 0.006) patients was much higher than that in normal controls (median, 9.0 U/mL). A significant difference for sHLA-G levels was also observed between patients with HBV infection (AHB vs CHB, AHB vs RHB, and CHB vs RHB; all p < 0.001). The area under the ROC curve for sHLA-G levels was 1.000 (p < 0.001) for AHB, 0.993 (p < 0.001) for CHB, and 0.604 (p = 0.003) for RHB patients versus normal controls, respectively. Data also indicated that the percentage of CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) T regulatory cells and HLA-G(+)CD14(+) monocytes was significantly increased in AHB and CHB patients compared with normal controls (all p < 0.001). Our findings indicated that induction of HLA-G expression may play a role in HBV immune evasion and sHLA-G levels could be a useful biomarker in HBV infection.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Center, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou Medical College, Linhai, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Wu
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Aifen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Dan-Ping
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Wei-Guang
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: Jian-Gang
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shi-Yong
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Wei-Hua
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Yan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D002452:Cell Count; D005260:Female; D059951:HLA-G Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D057131:Immune Evasion; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009000:Monocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D015415:Biomarkers; D059951:HLA-G Antigens