1st Edition

Minor Histocompatibility Antigens From the Laboratory to the Clinic

By Derry Roopenian, Elizabeth Simpson Copyright 2000
    200 Pages 34 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    With the widespread application of solid tissue and bone marrow transplantation as a treatment for an array of life threatening disorders, there is a pressing need for clinicians and experimentalists to understand the basis of immunological rejection of tissue transplants. While much previous work focuses on characterization of antigens encoded by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in this process, the many histocompatibility (H) antigens encoded outside of the MHC, the so-called minor H antigens, have only recently been identified at the molecular level. This easily readable but comprehensive text is the first to put together insightful historic perspectives with up-to-date advances in the molecular genetics, biochemistry and immunobiology of minor H antigens from both experimental and clinical points of view. In doing so it provides a sourcebook particularly suited for clinicians and experimental immunologists engaged in tissue transplantation. The text recounts the progress being made on many fronts. Newer approaches have extracted molecular explanations finally allowing one to ascribe a rational molecular basis to minor H minor antigens both in rodents and humans. This understanding also paves the way to apply new genomic analyses to the problem of tissue transplantation.

    1. Lessons from H 3, A Model Autosomal Mouse Minor Histocompatibility Locus 2. Sizing Up the Set of H Genes in Mice 3. Som e Personal Reflections on the History of Minor Histocompatibility Research 4. Identifying T Cell-Defined Histocompatibility Antigens by Expression Cloning 5. Mitochondrially-Encoded Minor Histocompatibility Antigens 6. The Male-Specific Minor Histocompatibility Antigen, HY 7. Mechanism s and Implications of Immunodominance 8. Human M in or Histocompatability Antigens: Towards Clinical Benefits. 9. Mapping Human Minor Histocompatability Genes 10. Applicability of Matching for Minor Histocompatability Antigens in Human Bone Marrow Transplantation 11. Genetic Linkage Analysis to Identify Minor Histocompatability Loci Contributing to Graft Versus Host Disease 12. Mouse Models for Graft-Versus-Host Disease 13. The Diversity and Characteristics of T -Cell Receptors Specific for Single N on -H 2 Histocompatability Antigens 14. Infectious Tolerance with CD4 Monoclonal Antibodies: A Role for Minors in Linked Suppression 15. Skin-Specific Minor Histocompatibility Antigens: A Critical Appraisal 16. Antigens Encountered During Organ Transplantation 17. Human Tumor Antigens Recognizes by Cytolytic T Lymphocytes: Towards Vaccination

    Biography

    Derry Roopenian, Ph.D., The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, U.S.A. Elizabeth Simpson, M.A. Vet. M.B. F.Med. Sci. MRC Clinical Sciences Centre ICSM, Hammersmith Hospital, London, U.K.