Biology Of The Mouse Histocompatibility 2 Complex

Somewhere I heard a story of a bridge and a painter. The bridge was enormous and was made all of metal, and the painter's job was to keep it from rusting. He would start at one end and slowly proceed, day by day, month by month, toward the other end, painting the bridge. But no sooner would he finish with the painting than the bridge would begin to rust again. The rust, too, would start at one end and slowly proceed toward the other end, systematically destroying the painter's endeavor. And so the painter would return to where he had started, and begin painting again, slowly proceeding toward the other end of the bridge, always just one step ahead of the rust. And if the story is true, the painter might still be painting that bridge-a modern Sisyphus! During the writing of this book, the story of the painter and his bridge kept coming to mind. The field the book covers has been developing so rapidly that, like the painter, I too had to return to where I had started and fight the rust of obsolescence. But unlike the painter, I had a deadline to meet, which constituted a point of no return. And so, sending off this manuscript, I have no choice but to watch the fruits of my endeavor be overtaken by the rust.

The Janeway's Immunobiology CD-ROM, Immunobiology Interactive, is included with each book, and can be purchased separately. It contains animations and videos with voiceover narration, as well as the figures from the text for presentation purposes.

Cell Biology of the Major Histocompatibility Complex documents the proceedings of a symposium on ""Cell Biology of the Major Histocompatibility Complex"" held at Arden House on the Harriman Campus of Columbia University from June 8 -10, 1984. The meeting was the ninth of the P & S Biomedical Sciences Symposia. The book is organized into five parts. Part I on the structure of MHC molecules includes papers on human histocompatibility antigens; the cloning of human MHC; and organization of the genes of the H-2 complex. Part II on alternate forms of MHC molecules includes studies on the expression of a secreted form of the MHC class I antigen and alternative splicing in the H-2 multigene family. Part III deals with MHC biosynthesis, intracellular transport, and membrane expression. It includes studies on the manipulation of glycans on antigens of the MHC and dynamics of MHC molecules in lymphoid cells. Part IV on homologues of class I MHC molecules covers topics such as Tla expression in normal and malignant cells and the Qa series of antigens. Part V on the association of MHC with antigens includes studies such as histocompatibility molecules as immune response gene products and molecular nature of T-cell recognition of antigen.

The Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) was discovered as a con sequence of the chronic problem encountered by cancer biologists in the early years of this century: the failure to maintain tumor lines by serial passage in outbred mice. A number of observations pointed to genetic similarity being a prerequisite for successful transplantation and they were incorporated into a genetic theory of transplantation by C.C. Little. This prompted scientists like Little to initiate breeding experiments designed to test his hypothesis and produce genetically identical mice which would permit the growth of trans planted tumors. Most inbred strains of mice commonly used in immunology derive from those efforts. Transplantation of normal tissues obeyed the same rules found for malignant tissues and rejection was shown to be an immunological phenomenon. G.D. Snell showed that a single genetic locus determined rapid rejection of skin grafts. This was initially called the Major Histocompatibility Locus but was subsequently shown to include many functionally related genes and renamed the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC). In mouse this is the H-2 complex and man the HLA complex. During this same period P.A.