Perspective of Human Leukocyte Antigen testing

Abstract

Most of the cells in the body have proteins or markers called human leukocyte antigens (HLA). To determine which cells, belong in the body and which do not, the immune system uses HLA. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing is used to match recipients and donors for bone marrow or cord blood transplants. The human major histocompatibility complex (HLA) is located on the short arm of chromosome 6, and it is a complex of genes that encode cell-surface proteins necessary for immune system regulation. It is well known that this human genetic system is the most polymorphic. HLA class I and class II molecules' biological function is to present antigens that have been processed into peptides. HLA was initially just a list of antigens discovered as a result of transplant rejection. HLAs are alloantigen’s that range from person to person due to genetic variance. In essence, every person's immune system is tailored to the distinct HLA and self-proteins produced by that person; when tissues are transferred to another person, however, things go wrong. Individuals almost always have different "banks" of HLAs, which causes transplant rejection because the recipient's immune system mistakes the transplanted tissue for non-self and kills the foreign tissue. HLAs were found as a result of this realization.