Advanced Research on the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC): From Bench to Bedside
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Immunology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 42
Special Issue Editor
Interests: HLA; MHC-G; immunology; population genetics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
It has been over 40 years since the human Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), also known as HLAs, was first studied in relation to disease. Today, many hypotheses about certain HLA alleles—linked particularly to autoimmune conditions, but also to other diseases—have been put forward. However, no firm pathogenesis has been established for such a linkage. In the meantime, the function of presenting antigenic peptides to the clonotypic T cell receptor of the immune cells, necessary for starting an adaptive immune response, was attributed to the MHC and thus to HLAs. In addition, nonclassical class I genes (HLA-G, -E, and –F) seem to modulate immune responses in humans.
But what is the relationship between these recognised functions of the MHC and the use of HLAs in choosing donors and recipients in transplantation in order to minimise rejection, and what links are there between the MHC, disease, and drug reactions? The answers to these questions are not clear, and only theoretical ones are available. In addition, in birds, some molecular anomalies have been found in canonical-presenting MHC molecules, without a straightforward molecular and evolutionary explanation. Perhaps more emphasis should be placed on studying the molecular evolution and function not of single but of multiple MHC allelic genes conjointly, in a single haplotype, including complement alleles. This will probably help to uncover direct, pathogenetic molecular and cellular mechanisms that explain the role of the MHC in the diseases it is linked to and allow for the improvement of transplantation outcomes with allelic MHC compatibility. These are the aims of this Special Issue of our journal.
Prof. Dr. Antonio Arnaiz-Villena
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- HLA
- immunology
- HLA genetics and pharmacogenetics
- immune and other functions of the MHC
- classical and nonclassical MHC class I HLA genes
- HLA-G
- HLA-E
- HLA-F
- MHC evolution
- complement
- autoimmunity
- immunodeficiency
- cancer
- HIV
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