Of HLA, tryps, and selection: An essay on coevolution of MHC and parasites

Abstract

While driving on California's freeways in the 1970s, one could occasionally see cars sporting a bumper sticker, Drive Carefully--Dr. Barnard is Waiting! With the exception of the Albert Einstein legend, this might have been as close as science will ever get to the bumper sticker-T-shirt culture. Although drivers of these cars have probably never even heard of HLA or of Dansset, Payne, and van Rood, those stickers would surely neve: have appeared had it not been for the work of these three pioneers But public consciousness is as ephemeral as scientific success. The stickers have long since disappeared, Dr. Barnard's star has faded (as all supernovas do), and transplantation, these days, only rarely makes headlines. Yet the superstructure of HLA, the Empire State Building of immunogenetics, remains an impressive and lasting monument to its founders. With this article, I invite Jon van Rood on the occasion of his official retirement to join me at the observation deck on the 102nd floor for a view from the top. It is late in the day and as dusk falls, only the silhouettes of the tallest buildings project out of the fog. As the details of the bustling metropolis disappear rapidly in the descending darkness, the view unbridles one's fantasy, lets one's thoughts wander. I invite Jon to enjoy the vista with me.