SOLUBLE HLA CLASS-I AND CLASS-II MOLECULE LEVELS IN SERUM AND CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID OF MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS PATIENTS

Increased concentrations of soluble HLA class I and class II molecules (sHLA-I and sHLA-II) have been observed in infectious, inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases. Because autoimmune mechanisms are considered to play a role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS), we deci ded to dose sHLA-I and sHLA-II in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of MS patients comparing their concentrations with those observed in s erum and CSF of patients with other neurologic diseases (OND) without evidence of neuroradiologic involvement of central nervous system (CNS ) and in serum of healthy donors. The serum concentrations of sHLA-I w ere higher in both MS and OND patients than in healthy donors (P < 0.0 5) whereas sHLA-II serum concentrations were lower in MS patients than in both OND patients and healthy donors (P < 0.01). Detectable amount s of sHLA-II were observed in the CSF of 45% of MS patients and in CSF of only 6% of OND patients (P < 0.001). In MS patients a significant correlation between sHLA-I serum and CSF concentrations was observed ( P < 0.01), whereas sHLA-II serum and CSF levels did not correlate. In conclusion, alterations of sHLA-I and sHLA-II serum and CSF concentrat ions are present in MS patients and could be involved in the induction of enhanced susceptibility to develop MS or in MS pathogenesis. (C) A merican Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, 1997.