Lack of association between HLA-G 14-bp polymorphism and systemic lupus erythematosus in a Han Chinese population

HLA-G is a non-classical HLA-class Ib molecule with multiple immunoregulatory properties. A 14-bp insertion/deletion polymorphism in the HLA-G gene has been suggested to influence the expression of HLA-G and to associate with certain pathological conditions, including autoimmune diseases. We investigated the influence of the 14-bp insertion/deletion polymorphism in the HLA-G gene on disease susceptibility in systemic lupus erythematosus by genotyping this polymorphism in 231 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and 367 healthy controls and analyzing the levels of soluble HLA-G in a subset of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and healthy subjects from a Han Chinese population. No statistically significant differences were observed in the frequencies of the 14-bp insertion/deletion HLA-G alleles or genotypes between controls and patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. However, a significant increased expression of soluble HLA-G was noted in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (mean...