Search

HLA from Benchtop to Bedside provides the reader with a comprehensive, concise and thoroughly up-to-date book on all aspects of the HLA system, including new techniques and methodologies. Each chapter begins with bullet point lists of principle learning points, including comprehensive references and validated links to international resources. Written by a diverse range of international academics for professionals, researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, this book is ideal for organ and stem cell transplant professionals, histocompatibility laboratory professionals and staff, medical residents and fellows on transplant services, medical students, and students in clinical laboratory science. The book's author, Dr. Arthur Bradley Eisenbrey, is an experienced transplant pathologist who has held significant academic and leadership positions in the field. - Reviews current knowledge surrounding the HLA system - Covers current methodologies and utilization of histocompatibility testing - Authored by a leader in the field of histocompatibility and transfusion medicine

This book discusses the topic of the HLA antigen system. Chapters discuss topics such as; animal studies, the possible mechanisms of HLA and disease associations, statistical and genetic considerations, the clinical use of HLA typing, as well as the current status of HLA and disease associations.

The Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) was discovered as a con­ sequence of the chronic problem encountered by cancer biologists in the early years of this century: the failure to maintain tumor lines by serial passage in outbred mice. A number of observations pointed to genetic similarity being a prerequisite for successful transplantation and they were incorporated into a genetic theory of transplantation by C.C. Little. This prompted scientists like Little to initiate breeding experiments designed to test his hypothesis and produce genetically identical mice which would permit the growth of trans­ planted tumors. Most inbred strains of mice commonly used in immunology derive from those efforts. Transplantation of normal tissues obeyed the same rules found for malignant tissues and rejection was shown to be an immunological phenomenon. G.D. Snell showed that a single genetic locus determined rapid rejection of skin grafts. This was initially called the Major Histocompatibility Locus but was subsequently shown to include many functionally related genes and renamed the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC). In mouse this is the H-2 complex and man the HLA complex. During this same period P.A.

Information about histocompatibility antigens is expanding so rapidly that it is difficult to remain abreast of aB advances. In these volumes, we have made an effort to bring together the most current work on topics that have generated most of the re cent advances and discussions. We have asked each author to present and interpret his most current work, and we have judiciously refrained from imposing our own prejudices and viewpoints. Although there is obvious overlap in some individual topics, we have encouraged this to provide the reader with as many different and some­ times opposing viewpoints as possible. This approach will, we liope, give a broad overview of current ideas in the field. We wish to thank all contributors for their timely and exciting manu­ scripts, and we sincerely hope that the reader will benefit from these volumes. R. A. Reisfeld S. Ferrone La Jolla ix Contents I. Serology and Genetics Chapter 1 Studies of HLA-DR Antigens by Complement Fixation Jacques M. Colombani, Laurent Degos, Virginia Lepage, Helene Dastot, Muriel Reboul, and Pierre Lethielleux 1. Introduction...................................................................... 3 2. Material and Methods.......................................................... 3 3. Results and Discussion........................................................ 4 3. 1. Screening for Anti-HLA-DR Complement-Fixing Sera........ 4 3. 2. Expression of HLA-A, -B and -DR Antigens on Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes during Phytohemagglutinin Stimulation...................................... 6 3.3. Expression of HLA-A, -B and -DR Antigens on Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes during Concanavalin A Stimulation........................................... 7 3. 4.

Abnormal expression of MHC class I molecules in malignant cells is a frequent occurrence that ranges from total loss of all class I antigens to partial loss of MHC specific haplotypes or alleles. Different mechanisms are described to be responsible for these alterations, requiring different therapeutic approaches. A complete characterization of these molecular defects is important for improvement of the strategies for the selection and follow-up of patients undergoing T-cell based cancer immunotherapy. Precise identification of the mechanism leading to MHC class I defects will help to develop new personalized patient-tailored treatment protocols. There is significant new research on the prevalence of various patterns of MHC class I defects and the underlying molecular mechanisms in different types of cancer. In contrast, few data is available on the changes in MHC class I expression during the course of cancer immunotherapy, but the authors have recently made discoveries that show the progression or regression of a tumor lesion in cancer patients undergoing immunotherapy depends on the molecular mechanism responsible for the MHC class I alteration and not on the type of immunotherapy used. According to this notion, the nature of the preexisting MHC class I lesion in the cancer cell has a crucial impact on determining the final outcome of cancer immunotherapy. This SpringerBrief will present how MHC class 1 is expressed, explain its role in tumor progression, and its role in resistance to immunotherapy. ​

With this book we· want to address young graduate students, clini­ cians involved in transplantation, and technicians in transplantation immunology laboratories. The volume should give a comprehensive but basic, up to date introduction to the structure, function, and clinical importance of the HLA system. We believe that there is a need for such a survey, and think that the present level of our knowledge is an optimal occasion for publication. A significant number of ques­ tions have now been resolved, and our knowledge has reached a level of sophistication that provides the basis for additional questions and answers. Although the emphasis of this book is on the role of HLA anti­ gens in clinical transplantation, their involvement in other clinical contexts is also discussed. The main focus is on the human MHC an­ tigenic system, but MHC systems in other species are described as they contribute to our understanding of the structural and functional characteristics of HLA antigens. Some important issues related to laboratory techniques are also covered. The contributors have a close affiliation to the field of transplan­ tation immunology. A majority have even been playing important roles in unraveling the HLA system and its functions. We believe this has contributed significantly to the quality and clinical and practical relevance of the book. As editors, we drew up the principal guidelines and took care that the chapters can be read as separate entities, although this invariably results in some overlapping.

Many of the genes found in the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC:HLA region) are subject to extreme polymorphism. HLA polymorphism has been used extensively in solid organ and bone marrow transplantation to match donors and recipients. Many MHC genes also have significant disease association and play a pivotal role in the control of immune response. In MHC Protocols, leading experts detail readily reproducible methods for identifying these polymorphisms in the human MHC. Described in step-by-step detail to ensure robust and successful experimental results, these techniques provide DNA-based protocols for the study of polymorphism in HLA class I and II genes and in non-HLA HMC genes associated with human disease (TAP1, TAP2, C2, C4, and TNF-a). The authors also describe methods for accessing HLA sequence data from electronic databases designed to catalog HLA-region genes and their alleles. Each method is written by an investigator who has used the technique extensively and includes troubleshooting tips and notes on pitfalls to avoid. Comprehensive and highly practical, MHC Protocols offers both experienced and novice investigators not only a state-of-the-art overview of this dramatically evolving area of immunology, but also a reliable guide to the identification of MHC gene polymorphisms.

The processing and presentation of antigens by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules is a crucial immunological phenomenon in infectious disease, malignancy, autoimmune disease, and transplantation. In Antigen Processing and Presentation Protocols, well-recognized and innovative experimentalists detail their cutting-edge methods for studying this complex process. Drawing on expertise from biochemistry, cell biology, and immunology, they describe step-by-step methods designed to question how MHC-binding peptides are generated, to test how peptides are delivered to MHC molecules, to analyze MHC peptide-binding patterns, and to assay the T cell response to the MHC/peptide complex. Each method is presented in sufficient detail to be readily reproducible and includes notes about potential pitfalls and tips on how to avoid failures. Emphasis is given those technical steps critical for experimental success that are often omitted from methods published in the primary literature. Eminently accessible and state-of-the-art, Antigen Processing and Presentation Protocols provides both new and experienced investigators with highly practical tools that will extend the questions that can be asked, and effectively be answered, concerning antigen processing/presentation.

In 1986, the Committee of Experts on Blood Transfusion and Immunohae- tology of the Council of Europe chose for their Programme of Co-ordinated Research'An investigation of the procurement and sharing of transplantable organs for potential recipients who are highly sensitized to HLA-antigens'. This topic was of common concern to all centres practising renal transplan- tion. The terms of reference of the study were: To estimate the number of patients who are virtually'untransplantable'because of high sensitization in each European country. To study the nature of immunization in terms of the type and specificity of antibodies present in the blood and techniques used for their detection. To investigate possible practical solutions - both current and future, invo- ing cross-matching procedures, the circulation of reference material from patients, and the willingness of the national organizations to share resources. 4. To explore other methods of resolving this problem. Although the study did not offer the prospect of a brilliant new insight into the problem of high sensitization, it was unique in several ways: for the first time we saw all European organizations collaborating in a common project to provide information on their activities, their problems and the methods to resolve them; it introduced, for this subject, relatively novel statistical methods to investigate susceptibility to sensitization and factors affecting transplant outcome; it enabled a large database of transplanted highly sensitized patients and matched controls to be assembled, that would have been unavailable as a research resource at any single centre.

A volume in the popular FactsBook Series, the First Edition of The Leucocyte Antigen FactsBook was hugely successful. The new Second Edition has been completely revised, updated, and expanded by 65% to include new findings and up-to-date key references. The introductory chapters have also been updated, especially in terms of nomenclature, the role of the World Wide Web, and new structural data. The Leucocyte Antigen FactsBook, Second Edition contains more than 200 entries, with approximately 70 new entries, on all the molecules specifically expressed in the surface of cells of the haematopoietic system, including all characterized CD antigens, antigen receptors, MHC antigens, adhesion molecules, and cytokine receptors. This FactsBook will be of enormous value to immunologists, cell biologists, biochemists, and endocrinologists.Key Features• Completely up-to-date• Revised and expanded to include over 70 new entries• More than 200 entries in total, plus additional introductory material• New structural data• New nomenclature for CD and related molecules covered