Exosomes bearing HLA-G and tumor immunology / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

ABSTRACT

Human leukocyte antigen G ( HLA-G) is a member of the non-classical HLA classⅠb family. It is considered to play a crucial role in immune tolerance. A unique feature of HLA-G is the struc-tural diversity as surface expressed and as secreted molecules, which is mainly attributed to alternative spli-cing of the primary transcript. HLA-G can promote the invasion and metastasis of tumor cells through various ways. In addition, HLA-G has been described included in exosomes. Exosomes released by most cell types are nano-sized vesicular bodies that contain lipid bilayer and rich contents. As a new marker for diseases, exosomes are extensively involved in the occurrence and development of diseases. Recent studies have found that exosomes can express soluble HLA-G, which reveal a new way by which HLA-G regulates tumor micro-environment. In this review, we focus on the expression of HLA-G on exosomes to provide new thoughts for the early detection and treatment of tumors.