Postpartum-activation of multiple sclerosis is associated with down-regulation of tolerogenic HLA-G

Abstract We used microarray analysis to obtain insights into the immuno-regulatory mechanisms controlling pregnancy-associated MS disease activity. We studied expression levels of 5000 immune-related genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with relapsing–remitting MS during pregnancy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of neuroimmunology 2007-07, Vol.187 (1), p.205-211
Main Authors: Airas, Laura, Nikula, Tuomas, Huang, Yu-Hwa, Lahesmaa, Riitta, Wiendl, Heinz
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Allergy and Immunology
Analysis of Variance
Down-Regulation - physiology
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - methods
Female
Flow Cytometry - methods
Gene Expression Profiling
Histocompatibility Antigens Class I - metabolism
HLA Antigens - metabolism
HLA-G
HLA-G Antigens
Humans
Immune Tolerance
Microarray
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis - blood
Multiple Sclerosis - etiology
Multiple Sclerosis - immunology
Neurology
Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis - methods
Postpartum Period
Postpartum-activation
Pregnancy
Severity of Illness Index
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Summary:Abstract We used microarray analysis to obtain insights into the immuno-regulatory mechanisms controlling pregnancy-associated MS disease activity. We studied expression levels of 5000 immune-related genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with relapsing–remitting MS during pregnancy and postpartum and in comparison to controls. In the microarray analysis, HLA-G, a non-classical major histocompatibility molecule mainly attributed with immune-tolerogenic functions, was found differentially regulated between MS patients and controls. The finding was corroborated and extended by real-time PCR, flow-cytometry and ELISA in a larger patient sample. The results delineate an important role for the immune-tolerogenic molecule HLA-G in modulating disease activity and pregnancy-related changes in MS patients.
ISSN:0165-5728
1872-8421
DOI:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2007.05.008