Evaluation of soluble human leukocyte antigen-G (sHLA-G) isoforms and regulatory T cells in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

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. copyright © spring 2015,iran j allergy asthma immunol. all rights reserved.