Blood soluble human leukocyte antigen G levels are associated with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection in Beninese commercial sex workers

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G is a powerful modulator of the immune response. The aim of this study was to investigate whether soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) expression is associated with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. HIV-1-infected female commercial sex workers (CSWs) had significantly lower levels of plasma sHLA-G compared with those in both the HIV-1-uninfected CSW and the non-CSW groups. The presence of HLA-G*010101, HLA-G*010404 alleles, and the 3′-untranslated region (3′UTR) genetic variant at position 3,952 were all significantly associated with lower plasma sHLA-G levels in the HIV-1-infected CSWs, whereas the HLA-G 3′UTR 14-bp sequence insertion was also associated with lower plasma sHLA-G levels in the overall population. When adjustment was made for all significant variables, the reduced expression of sHLA-G in the plasma remained significantly associated with HIV-1 infection and the HLA-G 3′UTR 14-bp insertion homozygote genotype. This study demonstrates that low levels of plasma sHLA-G are associated with HIV-1 infection.