The HLA FactsBook

The HLA FactsBook presents up-to-date and comprehensive information on the HLA genes in a manner that is accessible to both beginner and expert alike. The focus of the book is on the polymorphic HLA genes (HLA-A, B, C, DP, DQ, and DR) that are typed for in clinical HLA laboratories. Each gene has a dedicated section in which individual entries describe the structure, functions, and population distribution of groups of related allotypes. Fourteen introductory chapters provide a beginner's guide to the basic structure, function, and genetics of the HLA genes, as well as to the nomenclature and methods used for HLA typing. This book will be an invaluable reference for researchers studying the human immune response, for clinicians and laboratory personnel involved in clinical and forensic HLA typing, and for human geneticists, population biologists, and evolutionary biologists interested in HLA genes as markers of human diversity.

Introductory chapters provide good general overview of HLA field for novice immunologists and geneticistsUp-to-date, complete listing of HLA allelesInvaluable reference resource for immunologists, geneticists, and cell biologistsCombines both structural and functional information, which has never been compiled in a single reference book previouslySerological specificity of allotypesIdentity of material sequenced including ethnic originDatabase accession numbersPopulation distributionPeptide binding specificitiesT cell epitopesAmino acid sequences of allotypesKey references

Preface.
Abbreviations.
The Introductory Chapters:
Introduction.
Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) Determine Histocompatibility in Transplantation.
The Organisation of HLA Genes Within the HLA Complex.
HLA Class I Antigens and Alleles: Workshops and Nomenclature.
HLA Class II Antigens and Alleles: Workshops and Nomenclature.
HLA Typing at the DNA Level.
HLA Class I and II Molecules Present Peptide Antigens to Different Types of T Cell.
HLA Class I Molecules Control Natural Killer Cell Function.
Three-Dimensional Structures of HLA Class I Molecules.
Three-Dimensional Structures of HLA Class II Molecules.
HLA Polymorphism, Peptide Binding Motifs and T-Cell Epitopes.
Evolution and Anthropology of HLA.
HLA and Disease.
Alloreactions in Transplantation.
The HLA Class I and Class II Loci.