The HLA System in Clinical Transplantation: Basic Concepts and Importance

ISBN-13: 9783642775086 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 429 str.

Bjarte G. Solheim; Soldano Ferrone; Erna M. Ller

Opis

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."

Spis treści

The Life and Times of the Human Major Histocompatibility Complex.- Origins of Mhc Diversity.- Genetics, Chemistry and Expression.- MHC Genes.- Class I and Class II HLA Proteins and Genes: An Overview of Structure, Polymorphism, and Expression.- Assembly and Intracellular Transport of MHC Molecules.- Regulation and Deregulation of HLA Class II Genes.- Minor Transplantation Antigens.- Biological Function of MHC Molecules.- Biological Function of HLA Molecules.- MHC Molecules in Thymic Development and Selection of the T Cell Repertoire.- The Molecular Mechanisms of HLA Associated Autoimmunity.- The Capacity of Class I MHC Molecules to Function as Signal Transduction Elements.- The Major Histocompatibility Complex and Cell Physiology.- MHC Control of Growth and Metastatic Properties of Tumor Cells.- Allorecognition of HLA Molecules.- HLA Molecules in Allorecognition: T Cell Recognition and Typing Methods.- B Cell Recognition and HLA Typing: Current Methods and Future Possibilities. Role of Alloantibodies and Monoclonal Antibodies as Reagents.- HLA Antibodies, Non-HLA Antibodies, and Crossmatch Methods.- Transplantation of the Alloimmunized Patient.- HLA-Matching.- HLA Matching in Clinical Organ Transplantation.- Transplantation Tolerance and Noninherited Maternal HLA Antigens.- What To Do with the Immunized Patient. How to Avoid Humoral Immunization.- Immunosuppression.- Immunosuppressive Therapy.- Selective Depletion of Alloreactive Cells in Transplantation.- Immunological Considerations on the Use of Monoclonal Antibodies for In Vitro and In Vivo Modification of Alloimmunity.- Anti-idiotypic Antibodies in the HLA System.- Rejection.- Cellular and Molecular Mechanism of Rejection and Role of Viral Infection.- Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy in Rejection Diagnosis.- Bone Marrow Transplantation.- Bone Marrow Transplantation Using Related Donors.- Marrow Transplantation from Unrelated Donors.- Purging of Bone Marrow.- Xenografting.- Xenografting: Is It Feasible?.- Malignancy after Transplantation.- Tumors in Transplanted Patients.- Addendum.- Nomenclature for the Major Histocompatibility Complexes of Different Species: A Proposal.- Revised Nomenclature of Mouse H-2 Genes.