title: Evaluation of Soluble Human Leukocyte Antigen-G (sHLA-G) Isoforms and Regulatory T Cells in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis.
abstract: Soluble forms of nonclassical human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G have recently been suggested as immunomodulatory factors in multiple sclerosis (MS). HLA-G inhibits the effecter function of T cells and natural killer (NK) cells. Also regulatory T cells (Treg) are considered as pivotal players in MS pathogenesis. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the presence of HLA-G molecules and Treg cells in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) patients and compare it to healthy controls. Patients with RRMS (n=205, mean age=31.32±8.53) and healthy subjects (n=205, mean age=32.2±7.48) were studied. The patients subgrouped to untreated and treated with Interferon beta. Then sHLA-G levels (sHLA-G1 and sHLA-G5) were measured using ELISA method. Treg (CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+) cells in patients who had sHLA-G>10 U/ml were characterized by using flow cytometry. Our data showed that there was no significant differences between RRMS patients and healthy controls in sHLA-G concentration (p>0.05). Treg cell frequencies were higher in the patients who had sHLA-G >10 U/ml compared to healthy subjects (p<0.05). Collectively, there was significant correlation between sHLA-G and frequency of Treg cells in treated RRMS patients and healthy individuals. It seems that high level sHLA-G has been instrumental in raising frequency of Treg cells in treated patients and could be associated with remission of MS disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Fereshteh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alsahebfosoul
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zavaran Hosseini
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Rasoul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Salehi
authors.affiliation: Neurology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Masood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Etemadifar
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Nafiseh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Esmaeil
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.
authors.forename: Azam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jamshidian
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D059951:HLA-G Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D059951:HLA-G Antigens; D020033:Protein Isoforms
keywords: Multiple sclerosis; Regulatory T cells; sHLA-G