Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G acts as negative regulator of the immune responses and its expression may enable tumor cells to escape immunosurveillance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of HLA-G allelic variants and serum soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) levels on risk of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We analyzed 191 Caucasian adults with NSCLC and 191 healthy subjects r...

HLA-G is a non-classical MHC class I antigen that functions as an immunomodulatory molecule. There are two forms of HLA-G antigens, soluble and membrane bound. Soluble HLA-G can be produced by translation of HLA-G transcripts (HLA-G5, -G6, -G7) and by shedding/proteolytic cleavage of membrane bound antigens (HLA-G1, -G2, -G3, -G4). Soluble as well as membrane bound HLA-G molecules have a direct...

The hemolytic activity of Serratia marcescens was examined as a function of iron availability. Restriction of iron by the nonmetabolizable chelator 2,2'-dipyridyl or the iron-binding protein transferrin produced a marked increase in hemolytic activity. The hemolytic activity of S. marcescens is determined by two adjacent genes, 5'-shlB-shlA-3', where shlA encodes the hemolysin which requires th...

HLA-G is a major histocompatibility complex class Ib molecule whose constitutive tissue distribution is restricted mainly to trophoblast cells at the maternal-fetal interface during pregnancy. In this study, we demonstrated the ability of the soluble HLA-G1 (sHLA-G1) isoform to inhibit fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2)-induced capillary-like tubule formation. Using a rabbit corneal neovasculari...

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer type in men and is the second cause of death, due to cancer, in patients over 50, after lung cancer. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a widely used tumor marker for prostate cancer. Recently, PSA is discovered in non-prostatic cancer tissues in men and women raising doubts about its specificity for prostatic tissues. PSA exists in low serum level in h...

We enrolled 151 healthy mother/newborn couples and 26 with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). HLA-G and PAPP-A plasma levels were measured by ELISA at first and second trimesters, at delivery, and in cord blood. HLA-G 14 bp ins/del and PAPP-A A/C polymorphisms were genotyped. HLA-G del/del and PAPP-A C/C genotypes were more frequent among GDM mothers than controls. We observed a genetic epist...

Human leukocyte antigen(HLA)-G could inhibit functions of immune cells and induce regulatory T cells (Treg) and could be involved in antitumor immune responses. In the current study, HLA-G expression in 58 primary breast cancer lesions was analyzed with immunohistochemistry. Plasma soluble HLA-G was detected with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 92 breast cancer patients and in 70 normal he...

Herein, we show that CD8(dull), CD8(intermediate), and CD8(bright) natural killer (NK) cell clones can be identified. Triggering of CD8 with its natural ligand(s), represented by soluble HLA class I (sHLA-I), isolated either from serum of healthy donors or from HLA-I(-) 721.221 lymphoblastoid cell line transfected with HLA-A2, -Cw4, and -Bw46 alleles, or HLA-G1 leads to NK cell apoptosis. The m...

The engagement of the activating isoforms of C-type lectin inhibitory receptor (CLIR) or killer Ig-like receptor (KIR) by their natural ligands, represented by soluble HLA-I (sHLA-I) molecules, induced programmed cell death of natural killer (NK) cells. Indeed, NK cell apoptosis elicited by either putative HLA-E and HLA-F (sHLA-I non-A, -B, -C, and -G) or sHLA-I-Cw4 or -Cw3 from untransfected o...