Robinson M A, Noreen H J, Amos D B, Yunis E J
J Immunol. 1978 Oct;121(4):1486-90.
The evolution of HLA specificities has been toward ever-increasing refinement; one example is a subdivision of HLA-B5, the supertype specificity originally defined as 4a. HLA-B5 can now be further subdivided into Bw51 amd Bw52 by serologic means. Whereas the specificity Bw51 can be detected by specific sera, the identification of Bw52 must frequently be deduced from knowledge of B5 and Bw51, although serology has progressed rapidly. There has been no comparable development in identifying fine specificities by cellular cytotoxicity in populations. We have now found that cytotoxic effectors of exquisite specificity can be generated against Bw52 by sensitization of cells from a Bw51 donor and vice versa; Bw51 and Bw52 can in this way be recognized with equal ease. This may set a precedent for recognizing fine specificities of other HLA antigens that cannot yet be identified serologically or can be identified only imprecisely. These fine distinctions may have great relevance in allotransplantation and in understanding disease susceptibility.
HLA特异性的演变趋势是越来越精细；一个例子是HLA-B5的细分，HLA-B5最初被定义为4a这一超级型特异性。现在，HLA-B5可以通过血清学方法进一步细分为Bw51和Bw52。虽然Bw51特异性可以通过特异性血清检测到，但Bw52的鉴定通常必须从对B5和Bw51的了解中推断出来，尽管血清学已经取得了快速进展。在人群中通过细胞毒性鉴定精细特异性方面，尚未有类似的进展。我们现在发现，通过用Bw51供体的细胞进行致敏，可以产生针对Bw52的具有高度特异性的细胞毒性效应细胞，反之亦然；通过这种方式，可以同样轻松地识别Bw51和Bw52。这可能为识别其他尚未能通过血清学鉴定或只能进行不精确鉴定的HLA抗原的精细特异性开创先例。这些细微差别可能在同种异体移植和理解疾病易感性方面具有重大意义。
