Premium
Soluble monomers, dimers and HLA ‐G‐expressing extracellular vesicles: the three dimensions of structural complexity to use HLA ‐G as a clinical biomarker
Author(s) -
Nardi F. da Silva,
König L.,
Wagner B.,
Giebel B.,
Santos Manvailer L. F.,
Rebmann V.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
hla
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.347
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 2059-2310
pISSN - 2059-2302
DOI - 10.1111/tan.12844
Subject(s) - hla g , human leukocyte antigen , biomarker , immune system , biology , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , hla dr , antigen , computational biology , genetics
The HLA ‐G molecule belongs to the family of nonclassical human leukocyte antigen ( HLA ) class I. At variance to classical HLA class I, HLA ‐G displays (i) a low number of nucleotide variations within the coding region, (ii) a high structural diversity, (iii) a restricted peptide repertoire, (iv) a limited tissue distribution and (v) strong immune‐suppressive properties. The physiological HLA ‐G surface expression is restricted to the maternal–fetal interface and to immune‐privileged adult tissues. Soluble forms of HLA ‐G ( sHLA ‐G) are detectable in various body fluids. Cellular activation and pathological processes are associated with an aberrant or a neo‐expression of HLA ‐G/ sHLA ‐G. Functionally, HLA ‐G and its secreted forms are considered to be key players in the induction of short‐ and long‐term tolerance. Thus, its unique expression profile and tolerance‐inducing functions render HLA ‐G/ sHLA ‐G an attractive biomarker to monitor the systemic health/disease status and disease activity/progression for clinical approaches in disease management and treatments. Here, we place emphasis on (i) the current status of the tolerance‐inducing functions by HLA ‐G/ sHLA ‐G, (ii) the current complexity to implement this molecule as a meaningful clinical biomarker regarding the three dimensions of structural diversity (monomers, dimers and HLA ‐G‐expressing extracellular vesicles) with its functional implications, and (iii) novel and future approaches to detect and quantify sHLA ‐G structures and functions.