Cross Reacting Antigens and Neoantigens.

This book is a collection of papers and related discussions from a conference devoted to consideration of cross-reacting antigens and neoantigens, and implications of these chemical substances in autoimmunity, cancer, and transplantation immunology. Papers are necessarily from several disciplines; some presentations are complex. The importance of the concepts under study is of such magnitude that the subject matter is vital to anyone concerned with immune mechanisms. It is of particular interest to those involved with solutions to problems of autosensitization, graft rejection, and cancer biology. A basic principle of immunology is the specific reaction of an antibody with an antigen and with only that antigen. The occurrence of antigenic determinants of the same type on molecules from different sources provides the basis for cross-reacting antigens. Antigenic determinants on microbial agents may occur in mammalian tissues. A mechanism for establishing protective immune substances against microbial agents which may be deleterious to