INCREASED SOLUBLE SERUM HLA CLASS-I ANTIGENS IN PATIENTS WITH LYMPHOMA

sHLA are soluble forms of class I histocompatibility antigens detected in human serum and cerebrospinal fluid. These molecules are secreted by B and T lymphocytes and the secretion increases dramatically upon m itogenic activation of these cells. sHLA mas quantified by an ELISA sa ndwich method in sera from healthy blood donors, and from Patients wit h Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) and Hodgkin's Disease (HD) both at diag nosis and at remission. Pretreatment sHLA serum levels in NHL and in H D were compared with the values found in controls. sHLA levels are inc reased in patients with NHL (low grade: 6.68 +/- 1.80; high grade: 2.6 5 +/- 0.53 mu g/ml Ii +/- S,E.) and HD (6.44 +/- 0.98) at diagnosis an d in relapses when compared with controls (0.89 +/- 0.08), This increm ent is statistically significant (low grade NHL: p = 0.0038; high grad e NHL: p = 0.0049 and HD: ii 0.0005 versus control group). No statisti cal differences between titers oi sHLA after complete remission and sH LA in the control group were found. The high levels of sHLA detected i n patients with lymphoma are mainly clue to low molecular weight HLA m olecules (55 KD) (60-75% of tile HLA present in serum in the control g roup and 75-100% in serum of patients with lymphoma). (C) American Soc iety for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, 1997. Published by Els evier Science Inc.