The Major Histocompatibility Complex (Mhc/ Hla) in Medicine: A Personal Recollection

This book takes the reader on a journey through past and current research on the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC/HLA). It describes how it was discovered, what its biological function is and its application in medicine.

The reader will learn about the molecular structure of the encoded molecules and different aspects of their role in medicine, including organ transplantation, their link to autoimmune diseases, cancer immunity, resistance to infectious diseases, and other related scientific areas, such as population genetics. In particular, the book focusses on the impact of MHC/HLA altered expression in tumours and their relevance in cancer immune escape and immunotherapy. It contains a large number of original figures and photographs of pioneers in the field, who made seminal contributions. Each chapter is supported by relevant key publications and enriched with a personal account of the early research that has contributed to our current understanding of the role of the major histocompatibility complex.

This book is an excellent resource for all scientists in the biomedical life sciences who wish to gain insight into the discovery of the MHC/HLA and the role of this important genetic complex in health and disease.

Dr. Federico Garrido is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Immunology at the University of Granada Medical School. Prof Garrido was born in Granada (Spain) and obtained his MD and PhD degree in 1974 from the University of Granada. He did his postdoctoral fellowship at the laboratory of Prof Hilliard Festenstein at the London Hospital Medical College and at the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum in Heidelberg working on the Immunogenetic of the MHC. In 1981 he became Professor and Head of the Department of Immunology at the University Hospital ＂Virgen de las Nieves＂ in Granada. He served as an elected president of the Spanish Society of Immunology (1987-1991) and of the European Federation for Immunogenetics (2004-2008). Dr. Garrido dedicated his scientific career to the investigation of the role of the loss of tumour HLA class-I expression in cancer immune escape.