Abstract
HLA refers to a region on the short arm of the 6th chromosome in man. It encompasses genes of immunobiological importance controlling inter alia cell surface determinants, transplantation antigens responsible for organ and tissue graft rejection, complement components, immune responses and a variety of different disease susceptibilities. Homologous regions have been found in all mammals investigated; the region is known as H-2 in the mouse. Studies in the latter were of great help in developing our current ideas on the fine structure and function of HLA. Early work in mice (Snell 1948) showed that the control of rejection of tumours grafted from one inbred strain to another was confined predominantly to a single chromosomal region and was of overriding importance in tissue and organ graft rejection. It was accordingly named the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Other gene products in this region were subsequently identified by a variety of serological and cellular in vitro techniques. There are comparable histocompatibility genes within HLA that are responsible for rejection of organs and tissue in man. Singal et al. (1969) showed that recipients of a kidney from an HLA identical sibling donor do remarkably well whereas recipients of an HLA incompatible sibling donor do relatively poorly (90% vs 50% 2-year survival rates respectively).
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