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The Emergence of the Major Histocompatilibility Complex

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Self and Nonself

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 738))

Abstract

The Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) is a genomic region that contains genes that encode proteins involved with antigen presentation and, therefore, plays an important role in the adaptive immune system. The origin of these genes was probably an ancestral MHC that appeared before the emergence of the adaptive immune system and contained genes related to immunity. The organization of MHC genes varies in different groups of vertebrates; although, there are some characteristics that are maintained in all groups, which indicates that they confer some evolutionary advantage: Organization of the genes to form clusters and genetic polymorphisms. The study of how the MHC appeared during evolution and how it is organized in different species can help us clarify what features are essential in their participation in self-nonself recognition.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Immunology Department, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain

    Jesús Martínez-Borra & Carlos López-Larrea

  2. Fundación Renal „Iñigo Álvarez de Toledo“, Madrid, Spain

    Carlos López-Larrea

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  1. Jesús Martínez-Borra
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  2. Carlos López-Larrea
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Correspondence to Carlos López-Larrea .

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  1. Department of Immunology, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain

    Carlos López-Larrea PhD

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Martínez-Borra, J., López-Larrea, C. (2012). The Emergence of the Major Histocompatilibility Complex. In: López-Larrea, C. (eds) Self and Nonself. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 738. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1680-7_16

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