Introduction to HLA and the Immune System.

HLA Protein (orange ribbon diagram) presenting a pathogen peptide (multicolored spheres) as an antigen to the immune system.

MOVIE #1: Class I presented peptides indicate viral infection and cancerous transformation <watch video >

MOVIE #2: Identifying class I peptide epitopes unique to infected or cancerous cells <watch video >

Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) is one of the most diverse classes of proteins in all of human biology. This is not surprising, since the biological function of HLA is to create a diverse molecular ‘fingerprint’ in order for the immune system to distinguish self from non-self. HLA proteins all belong to a group of genes on human chromosome 6 called the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), and these proteins are expressed on various cells within the body. The HLA proteins are displayed on cell surfaces in at least two different ways, necessitating further classification of the proteins as Class I or Class II.

Class I molecules are presented on most nucleated cells as a receptor complexed with another protein, beta-2-microglobulin. Class II molecules form a heterodimeric protein receptor that is expressed on antigen-presenting cells. Pathogens that enter the body are engulfed by antigen presenting cells, which digest the pathogen proteins and then display the resulting peptides on their surface as a complex with the Class II HLA receptor. The antigen presenting cells function to display non-self peptides to another cell type, T Cells, which can then mount an immune response to eliminate the pathogen.

In addition to HLA reagents, Pure Protein also provides analytical services to verify peptide binding and loading quality of FACS staining reagents such as dimers and tetramers.

For more information on our sHLA technology, download the Pure Protein datasheet or contact us.