Adaptive Immunity

HLA-G antibody panel for flow cytometry

Human leukocyte antigens (HLA) are key components of the adaptive part of the human immune system. EXBIO offers a panel of unique antibodies that have been thoroughly validated and are recommended as reference HLA-G antibodies.

HLA-G as a negative regulator of immune responses and useful marker for sportsmen

HLA-G is a broadly negative regulator of antigen presenting cells as well as T, B and NK lymphocytes. It belongs to so called immune check point molecules. Overexpression of HLA-G on some tumors contributes to intratumoral tolerogenic environment, making it a potential target of cancer immunotherapy. On the other hand, HLA-G expression on cells of transplanted organs or tissues affected by autoimmune diseases is beneficial as it suppresses the detrimental attack of the immune system.

It has been known for a long time that intense physical activity may down-regulate the immune functions and that very intense and prolonged exercise is associated with higher morbidity and mortality, in contrast to healthy modest exercise. Indeed, moderate exercise may lower the risk of respiratory infection, whereas excessive exercise increases the risk. Actually, the greater risk for upper respiratory infection has been observed in over-trained compared with well-trained athletes (Nielsen, 2013). A recent study (Fernandes et al., 2020) demonstrates that in bodybuilders, especially those with less body fat, the systemic levels of soluble HLA-G are significantly increased, which may contribute to the previously observed mild induced immunodeficiency. This seemingly paradoxical result is probably related to the fact that intense exercise leads more or less to muscle damage, which elicits an inflammatory immune response. The increased expression of soluble HLA-G (and possibly other immunosuppressive molecules) may thus serve to mitigate this potentially damaging inflammatory response. The level of soluble HLA-G thus may be a useful indicator of a too extreme training.

Ref.: Exbio Blog, Prof. Václav Hořejší