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HLA‐G Polymorphisms: Ethnic Differences and Implications for Potential Molecule Function

1998; Wiley; Volume: 40; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1600-0897.1998.tb00406.x

1600-0897

Katrin van der Ven, S. Skrablin, Carole Ober, D. Krebs,

Endometriosis Research and Treatment

PROBLEM: Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)‐G is uniquely expressed on extravillous cytotrophoblasts of the placenta and is postulated to be a mediator of maternal immune tolerance. Although it was originally considered to be nonpolymorphic, variations of the HLA‐G DNA sequence have been reported, and a limited number of HLA‐G alleles been defined. METHOD OF STUDY: The HLA‐G wild‐type sequence was compared with HLA‐A2 with regard to the conservation of functionally essential parts of classical HLA‐I molecules. HLA‐G polymorphisms were analyzed under the aspect of ethnic differences, site, and consequences for postulated molecule functions. RESULTS: HLA‐G exhibits a high degree of conservation relative to HLA‐A2 in functionally relevant sites of HLA‐class I molecules. However, polymorpahic sites in HLA‐G and classical HLA loci are not congruent. CONCLUSION: The type and localization of HLA‐G polymorphisms suggest that different parts of the HLA‐G molecule underlie different selective constraints.