Chemical Characterization of Products of the H-2 Complex

The partial amino acid sequence analyses of various gene products of the H-2 complex have placed this branch of immunology in a position akin to that of antibody structure, function, and genetics at the time of the 1967 Cold Spring Harbor Symposium. The partial sequence data on the transplantation antigens lead to tentative hypotheses or observations that fall into two categories: (1) certain evolutionary homology relationships (or lack thereof) are evident; and (2) provocative questions are raised concerning the organizational patterns, regulatory mechanisms, and evolutionary history of the genes encoding the classical transplantation antigens. Likewise, the Ia data, although more preliminary in nature, raise intriguing questions about the homology relationships, the genetics, and the evolution of this complex and multigenic family. In this paper, we will discuss the isolation and preliminary characterization of the classical transplantation antigens and the Ia molecules of the mouse...