Comments by Jerry H. Brown
This paper is the first description of the three-dimensional structure of a class II human leukocyte antigen (HLA). Also known as histocompatibility antigens, the HLA molecules are present on various cell surfaces to help lymphocytes of the immune system recognize and respond to their targets. The structural description of such molecules, explain the authors and other researchers, provides a basis for understanding the molecular mechanisms of such processes as immune recognition.
As far back as 1987, this group of scientists published the first crystal structures of class I HLA molecules (P.J. Bjorkman et al., Nature, 329:506-12, 1987; P.J. Bjorkman et al., Nature, 329:512-8, 1987). But the structure of class II HLA molecules, which are expressed primarily on the surfaces of specialized antigen-presenting cells, such as the macrophages and B lymphocytes, proved more elusive and was not published until nearly five years later, according to the ...
