The aim of this retrospective study was to analyse in advanced melanoma the potential tumor markers S-100B, melanoma inhibiting activity protein (MIA) and YKL-40 compared to LDH. Serum levels of S-100B, MIA, LDH and YKL-40 were measured in 110 patients with advanced melanoma (36 in stage IIIB/C and 74 in stage IV), in 66 disease-free patients and in 65 healthy controls. Results show that S-100B, MIA and LDH levels were significantly higher in patients with advanced melanoma than in disease-free patients or healthy controls. The combination of S-100B plus MIA had the best diagnostic sensitivity, and the addition of LDH did not further increase this sensitivity. MIA was an independent prognostic factor of overall survival. Patients with both S-100B and MIA elevated had a significant shorter survival than those with both S-100B and MIA under the cut-off. YKL-40 levels did not differentiate patients with advanced melanoma from controls. We concluded that the combination of MIA plus S-100B showed a better prognostic value in advanced melanoma compared to LDH.

BACKGROUND HLA-G in biological fluids has been proposed to be useful as a tumor marker as both a diagnostic and prognostic factor. Most HLA-G measurement procedures are based on ELISA methods using highly specific antibodies. However, results of published studies are in conflict regarding the clinical utility and even the nature of HLA-G present in circulation. METHODS We collected 118 exudates, 94 from cancer patients and 24 from patients without tumors. We measured HLA-G concentrations by ELISA using MEM-G/9 or G233 as capture antibody. Samples were immunoprecipitated with an anti–HLA-G antibody and analyzed by Western blot using a different anti–HLA-G antibody. RESULTS Discrepancies in HLA-G concentrations in exudates were observed depending on what capture anti–HLA-G antibody was used for ELISA (r = 0.376). These discrepancies were not observed when the ELISAs were performed using culture supernatants from HLA-G1–transfected cells (r = 0.983). Immunoprecipitation and Western blot of cell culture supernatants with 2 different anti–HLA-G antibodies produced the typical band at 39 kDa assigned to HLA-G. When the immunoprecipitation and western blot were performed with exudates, however, there were bands at 53 kDa and 70–76 kDa, higher molecular weights than those usually assigned to HLA-G. These HLA-G–like molecules were associated with β2-microglobulin and could also form disulfide bridges with other HLA-G–like molecules. CONCLUSIONS The main HLA-G antigenic molecules in exudates are HLA-G–like complexes, a factor that should be considered when analyzing HLA-G in biological fluids.

Plasmatic HLA-G5 levels do not change during pregnancy and its concentration depends on 14-bp polymorphism.

Ig‐like transcript 2 (ILT2) is a suppressive receptor that participates in the control of the autoimmune reactivity. This action is usually carried out in a proinflammatory microenvironment where there is a high production of free radicals and NO. However, little is known regarding whether these conditions modify the protein or affect its suppressive functions. The present study aimed to investigate the suppressive response of the ILT2 receptor under oxidative stress. To address this topic, we treated the ILT2‐expressing natural killer cell line, NKL, with the NO donor N‐(4‐[1‐(3‐aminopropyl)‐2‐hydroxy‐2‐nitrosohydrazino]butyl)propane‐1,3‐diamine (DETA‐NO). We observed that DETA‐NO caused ILT2 protein nitration. MS analysis of the chimeric recombinant human ILT2‐Fc protein after treatment with the peroxynitrite donor 3‐(morpholinosydnonimine hydrochloride) (SIN‐1) showed the nitration of Tyr35, Tyr76 and Tyr99, which are involved in human leucocyte antigen‐G binding. This modification is selective because other Tyr residues were not modified by SIN‐1. Recombinant human ILT2‐Fc treated with SIN‐1 bound a significantly higher quantity of human leucocyte antigen‐G than untreated recombinant human ILT2‐Fc. DETA‐NO did not modify ILT2 mRNA expression or protein expression at the cell surface. Preincubation of NKL cells with DETA‐NO decreased the cytotoxic lysis of K562‐human leucocyte antigen‐G1 cells compared to untreated NKL cells (P < 0.05) but increased cytotoxicity against K562‐pcDNA cells (P < 0.05). Intracellular tyrosine phosphorylation produced after human leucocyte antigen‐G binding was not affected by DETA‐NO cell pretreatment. These results support the hypothesis that the ILT2–human leucocyte antigen‐G interaction should have a central role in tolerance under oxidative stress conditions when other tolerogenic mechanisms are inhibited. Structured digital abstract http://mint.bio.uniroma2.it/mint/search/interaction.do?interactionAc=MINT-7144982: ILT2 (uniprotkb:http://www.ebi.uniprot.org/entry/Q8NHL6) binds (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/ontology-lookup/?termId=MI:0407) to HLA‐G (uniprotkb:http://www.ebi.uniprot.org/entry/P17693) by affinity technologies (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/ontology-lookup/?termId=MI:0400)