HLA-G in patients with pemphigus vulgaris: does it correlate with disease severity?

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune disease with worldwide distribution. Human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G) is postulated to be associated with this inflammatory and autoimmune condition. However, its role has not been well established in the literature. The study aimed to evaluate the plasma level of HLA-G in PV patients and assess its correlation with disease severity and compare it with normal subjects. Thirty PV patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. A blood sample was taken from each participant; samples were analyzed for the soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) plasma level by applying an ELISA kit (sHLA-G ELISA kit; Exbio, Czech Republic). Patients’ clinical and demographic data were recorded and analyzed. Higher levels of sHLA-G were seen in PV patients compared to the control group (P < 0.05). There was a negative linear relationship between plasma HLA-G level and PV based on all ABSIS indices except for oral involvement (-1 < R < 0); however, these correlations were not statistically significant (P≥0.05). Our data showed higher plasma sHLA-G levels in PV patients, which did not correlate with disease severity.