Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Evolutionary Significance of the HL-A System

Abstract

It is still an open question how the genetic polymorphism represented by the principal human histocompatibility system is maintained. But it may have evolved as a consequence of the necessity for cell to cell recognition during development and morphogenesis.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Dausset, J., Rapaport, F. J., Ivanyi, P., and Colombani, J., Histocompatibility Testing 1965, 63 (Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1965).

    Google Scholar 

  2. van Rood, J. J., van Leeuwen, A., Schippers, A. M. H., Vouys, W., Frederiks, E., Balner, H., and Eernisse, J. G., Histocompatibility Testing 1965, 37 (Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1965).

    Google Scholar 

  3. van Rood, J. J., van Leeuwen, A., Schippers, A., Ceppellini, R., Mattiuz, P. L., and Curtoni, E. S., Ann. NY Acad. Sci., 129, 467 (1966).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Allen, A., Amos, D. B., Batchelor, R., Bodmer, W. F., Ceppellini, R., Dausset, J., Engelfriet, C., Jeannet, M., Kissmeyer-Nielsen, F., Morris, P., Payne, R., Terasaki, P., Van Rood, J. J., Walford, R., Zmijewski, C., Albert, E., Mattiuz, P., Mickey, R. R., and Piazza, A., Histocompatibility Testing 1970, 2 (Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1970).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Snell, G. D., Cherry, M., and Demant, P., Transplant. Proc., 3, 183 (1971).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Shreffler, D. C., David, C. S., Passmore, H. C., and Klein, J., Transplant. Proc., 3, 176 (1971).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Klein, J., and Shreffler, D. C., Transplant. Rev., 6, 3 (1971).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Balner, H., van Leeuwen, A., van Vreeswijk, W., Dersjant, H., and van Rood, J. J., Tissue Antigens, 1, 229 (1971).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Balner, H., Gabb, B. W., Dersjant, H., van Vreeswijk, W., and van Rood, J. J., Nature, 230, 177 (1971).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Iha, T. H., Gerbrandt, G., Bodmer, W. F., McGary, D., and Stone, W. H., Abstr. Amer. Soc. Hum. Genet. (October 1969).

  11. Albert, E., Kano, K., Abeyounis, C. J., and Milgrom, F., Transplantation, 8, 446 (1969).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Cavalli-Sforza, L. L., and Bodmer, W. F., The Genetics of Human Populations (Freeman, San Francisco, 1971).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Albert, E. D., Mickey, M. R., McNicholas, A. C., and Terasaki, P. I., in Histocompatibility Testing 1970, 221 (Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1970).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Dausset, J., Transplant. Proc., 3, 8 (1971).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Lewontin, R. C., and Hubby, J. C., Genetics, 54, 595 (1966).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Selander, R. K., Yang, S. H., Lewontin, R. C., and Johnson, W. E., Evolution, 24, 402 (1970).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Harris, H., Proc. Roy. Soc., B, 164, 298 (1966).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Sved, J., Reed, T. E., and Bodmer, W. F., Genetics, 55, 469 (1967).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. King, J. L., Genetics, 55, 561 (1967).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Milkman, R. D., Genetics, 55, 493 (1967).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Wright, S., Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol., 20, 16 (1955).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Kojima, K., and Yarbrough, K. M., Proc. US Nat. Acad. Sci., 57, 645 (1967).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Bodmer, W. F., and Parsons, P. A., Advan. Genet., 11, 1 (1962).

    Google Scholar 

  24. Bodmer, W. F., and Felsenstein, J., Genetics, 52, 237 (1967).

    Google Scholar 

  25. Sved, J. A., Genetics, 59, 543 (1968).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  26. Franklin, I., and Lewontin, R. C., Genetics, 65, 707 (1970).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. Bodmer, W. F., Bodmer, J. G., and Tripp, M., Histocompatibility Testing 1970, 187 (Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1970).

    Google Scholar 

  28. Svejgaard, A., Bratlie, A., Hedin, P. J., Högman, C., Jersild, C., Kissmeyer-Nielsen, F., Lindblohm, B., Lindblohm, A., Löw, B., Messeter, L., Möller, E., Sandberg, L., Staub-Nielsen, L., and Thorsby, E., Tissue Antigens, 1, 81 (1971).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Ferguson-Smith, M. A., Proc. Fourth Intern. Congr. Hum. Genet. (in the press).

  30. Bodmer, J. G., Coukell, A., Bodmer, W. F., Payne, R., and Shanbrom, E., Histocompatibility Testing 1970, 175 (Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1970).

    Google Scholar 

  31. Reisfeld, R. A., and Kahan, B. D., Transplant. Rev., 6, 81 (1971).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Mattiuz, P. L., Ihde, D., Piazza, A., Ceppellini, R., and Bodmer, W. F., Histocompatibility Testing 1970, 193 (Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1970).

    Google Scholar 

  33. Feldman, M. W., Nabholz, M., and Bodmer, W. F., Amer. J. Hum. Genet., 21 (1969).

  34. Payne, R., Pediatrics, 33, 184 (1964).

    Google Scholar 

  35. Naito, S., Mickey, M. R., Ebbin, A. J., Strauss, J., and Terasaki, P. I., Histocompatibility Testing 1970, 489 (Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1970).

    Google Scholar 

  36. Clarke, B., and Kirby, D. R. S., Nature, 211, 999 (1966).

    ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Hull, P., Genetics, 54, 1049 (1966).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Billington, W. D., Nature, 202, 317 (1964).

    ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. James, D. A., Nature, 205, 613 (1965).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  40. McLaren, A., J. Reprod. Fertil., 9, 79 (1965).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Hull, P., Heredity, 24, 203 (1969).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Michie, D., and Anderson, N. F., Ann. NY Acad. Sci., 129, 88 (1966).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  43. Palm, J., Transplant. Proc., 2, 162 (1970).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Kirby, D. R. S., in Human Transplantation (edit. by Rapaport, T. R., and Dausset, J.), 565 (Grune and Stratton, New York, 1968).

    Google Scholar 

  45. Ford, E. B., Biol. Rev., 20, 73 (1945).

    Google Scholar 

  46. Aird, I. H., Bentall, H., and Fraser-Roberts, J. A., Brit. Med. J., 1, 799 (1953).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Vogel, F., Amer. J. Hum. Genet., 32, 464 (1970).

    Google Scholar 

  48. Wiener, A. S., Amer. J. Hum. Genet., 32, 476 (1970).

    Google Scholar 

  49. McDevitt, H. O., and Benacerraf, B., Adv. Immunol., 11, 31 (1969).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Lilly, F., J. Exp. Med., 127, 465 (1968).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  51. Lilly, F., Transplant. Proc., 3 (in the press).

  52. McDevitt, H. O., and Bodmer, W. F., Amer. J. Med., 52, 1 (1972).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Amiel, J. L., Histocompatibility Testing 1967, 79 (Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1967).

    Google Scholar 

  54. Forbes, J. F., and Morris, P. J., Lancet, ii, 849 (1970).

  55. Zervas, J. D., Delamore, I. W., and Israels, M. C. O., Lancet, ii, 634 (1970).

  56. Coukell, A., Bodmer, J. G., and Bodmer, W. F., Transplant. Proc., 3, 1291 (1971).

    Google Scholar 

  57. Grumet, F. C., Coukell, A., Bodmer, J. G., Bodmer, W. F., and McDevitt, H. O., New Engl. J. Med., 285, 193 (1971).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Waters, H., Konrad, P., and Walford, R. L., Tissue Antigens, 1, 68 (1971).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Transplant. Proc., 3, 1133 (1971).

  60. Dausset, J., in Progress in Clinical Immunology (edit. by Schwartz, R.) (Grune and Stratton, New York, in the press).

  61. Walford, R. L., Smith, G. S., Waters, H., Transplant. Rev. (in the press).

  62. Snell, G. D., Folia Biologica (Prague), 14, 335 (1968).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. Crittendon, L. B., Briles, W. E., and Stone, H. A., Science, 169, 1324 (1970).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  64. Bodmer, W. F., Symp. Soc. Gen. Microbiol., 20, 279 (1970).

    Google Scholar 

  65. Nandi, S., Proc. US Nat. Acad. Sci., 58, 485 (1967).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  66. Nandi, S., Haslam, S., and Helmich, C., Transplant. Proc., 3, 1251 (1971).

    Google Scholar 

  67. Aoki, T., Boyse, E. A., Old, L. J., Harven, de E., Hämmerling, U., and Wood, H. A., Proc. US Nat. Acad. Sci., 65, 569 (1970).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  68. Clegg, J. A., Smithers, S. R., and Terry, R. J., Nature, 232, 653 (1971).

    ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  69. Gorer, P. A., in Cellular Aspects of Immunity (edit. by Wolsten-holme, G. E., and O'Connor, M.), Ciba Foundation Symposium 330 (Churchill, London, 1960).

    Google Scholar 

  70. Burnet, F. M., The Integrity of the Body (Harvard U. P., Cambridge, 1962).

    Google Scholar 

  71. Weber, W. T., Nowell, P. C., and Hare, W. C. D., J. Nat. Cancer Inst., 35, 537 (1965).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  72. Cooper, H. L., Mackay, C. M., and Banfield, W. G., J. Nat. Cancer Inst., 33, 691 (1964).

    Google Scholar 

  73. Bodmer, J. G., and Bodmer, W. F., Amer. J. Hum. Genet., 22, 396 (1960).

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  74. Allison, A. C., Brit. Med. J., 1, 290 (1954).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  75. Ceppellini, R., Att. 111, AGI, Suppl. la Ricerca Scientifica, 3 (1957).

  76. Workman, P. L., Blumberg, B. S., and Cooper, A. J., Amer. J. Hum. Genet., 15, 429 (1963).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  77. Wright, S., Evolution, 18, 609 (1965).

    Google Scholar 

  78. Fisher, R. A., The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection, second ed.(Dover, New York, 1958).

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  79. Fellous, M., and Dausset, J., Nature, 225, 191 (1970).

    ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  80. Piazza, A., Mattiuz, P. L., and Ceppellini, R., Haematologica, 54, 701 (1969).

    Google Scholar 

  81. McDevitt, H. O., Bechtol, K., Grumet, F. C., Mitchell, G. F., and Wegmann, T. G., Progress in Immunology (Proc. First Intern. Cong. Immunol.), 495 (Academic Press, 1971).

    Google Scholar 

  82. Transplant. Rev., 5 (1970).

  83. Natvig, J. B., Kunkel, H. G., and Litwin, S. D., Cold Spring Harbor Syrnp. Quant. Biol., 32, 173 (1967).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  84. Herzenberg, L. A., McDevitt, H. O., and Herzenberg, L. A., Ann. Rev. Genet., 2, 209 (1968).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  85. Amos, B., Cabrera, G., Bias, W. B., MacQueen, J. M., Lanaster, S. L., Southworth, J. G., and Ward, F. E., Histocompatibility Testing 1970, 259 (Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1970).

    Google Scholar 

  86. Mole, L. E., Jackson, S. A., Porter, R. R., and Wilkinson, J. M., Biochem. J., 124, 301 (1971).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  87. Mage, R. G., Young-Cooper, G. O., and Alexander, C., Nature, 230, 63 (1971).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  88. Bach, F., and Amos, D. B., Science, 156, 1506 (1967).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  89. Shellekens, P., Th, A., Vriesendorp, B., Eijsvogel, V. P., van Leeuwen, A., van Rood, J. J., Miggiano, V., and Ceppellini, R., Clin. Exp. Immunol., 6, 241 (1970).

    Google Scholar 

  90. Plate, J. M., Ward, F. E., and Amos, D. B., Histocompatibility Testing 1970, 531 (Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1970).

    Google Scholar 

  91. Yunis, E. J., and Amos, D. B., Proc. US Nat. Acad. Sci., 68, 3031 (1971).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  92. Ceppellini, R., Progress in Immunology (Proc. First Intern. Congr. Immunol.), 973 (Academic Press, 1971).

    Google Scholar 

  93. Eijsvogel, V. P., Shellekens, P. Th. A., Vriesendorp, B., van Leeuwen, A., Koch, C., and van Rood, J. J., Histocompatibility Testing 1970, 523 (Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1970).

    Google Scholar 

  94. Koch, C. T., Eijsvoogel, V. P., Fredericks, E., and van Rood, J. J., Lancet, ii, 1334 (1971).

  95. Ceppellini, R., in Human Transplantation (edit. by Rapaport, R. T., and Dausset, J.), 21 (Grune and Stratton, New York, 1968).

    Google Scholar 

  96. Rychlikova, M., Demant, P., and Ivanyi, P., Nature, 230, 271 (1971).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  97. Dupont, B., Nielsen, L. S., and Svejgaard, A., Lancet, ii, 1336 (1971).

  98. Lebrun, A., Sasportes, M., Lebrun, D., and Dausset, J., CR Acad. Sci., 273, 2130 (1971).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  99. Moscona, A., Proc. US Nat. Acad. Sci., 43, 184 (1957).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  100. Boyse, E. A., and Old, L. J., Ann. Rev. Genet., 3, 269 (1969).

    Google Scholar 

  101. Burnet, F. M., Nature, 232, 230 (1971).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  102. Jerne, N. K., Europ. J. Immunol., 1, 1 (1971).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  103. Itakura, K., Hutton, J. J., Boyse, E. A., and Old, L. J., Nature, 230, 126 (1971).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  104. Schellekens, P. Th. A., and Eijsvoogel, V. P., Clin. Exp. Immunol., 7, 229 (1970).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  105. Dausset, J., Colombani, J., Legrand, L., and Fellous, M., Histocompatibility Testing 1970, 53 (Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1970).

    Google Scholar 

  106. Williams, G. M., Rolley, R. T., and Home, D. M., Surg. Forum, 19, 209 (1968).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  107. Perkins, H. A., Douglas, K. S., Cockrum, K., and Kountz, S., Histocompatibility Testing 1970, 583 (Munksgaard, Copenhagen, 1970).

    Google Scholar 

  108. Dausset, J., Transplant. Proc., 3, 1139 (1971).

    Google Scholar 

  109. Hellström, K. E., and Hellström, I., Ann. Rev. Microbiol., 24, 373 (1970).

    Google Scholar 

  110. Hellström, I., Hellström, K. E., and Allison, A. C., Nature, 230, 49 (1971).

    ADS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  111. Wegmann, T., Hellström, I., and Hellström, K. E., Proc. US Nat. Acad. Sci., 68, 1644 (1971).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  112. Ceppellini, R., Bonnard, G. D., Coppo, F., Miggiano, V. C., Pospisil, M., Curtoni, E. S., and Pellegrino, M., Transplant. Proc., 3, 63 (1971).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

BODMER, W. Evolutionary Significance of the HL-A System. Nature 237, 139–145 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/237139a0

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/237139a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing