Molecular mechanisms for contribution of MHC molecules to autoimmune diseases
Current opinion in immunology, 2014•Elsevier
Highlights•The MHC is the most important genetic risk factor in common autoimmune
diseases.•For one disease there can be independent contributions by several distinct MHC
loci.•Presentation of peptide ligands by MHC can be modified by small molecules.•T cells
recognize post-translationally modified peptides and peptides with modified presentation.It
will soon be 50 years since the first MHC associations with human disease were described.
These seminal studies opened a flourishing area of research, yet much remains to be …
diseases.•For one disease there can be independent contributions by several distinct MHC
loci.•Presentation of peptide ligands by MHC can be modified by small molecules.•T cells
recognize post-translationally modified peptides and peptides with modified presentation.It
will soon be 50 years since the first MHC associations with human disease were described.
These seminal studies opened a flourishing area of research, yet much remains to be …
Highlights
- The MHC is the most important genetic risk factor in common autoimmune diseases.
- For one disease there can be independent contributions by several distinct MHC loci.
- Presentation of peptide ligands by MHC can be modified by small molecules.
- T cells recognize post-translationally modified peptides and peptides with modified presentation.
It will soon be 50 years since the first MHC associations with human disease were described. These seminal studies opened a flourishing area of research, yet much remains to be discovered. Genome-wide association studies of autoimmune diseases have demonstrated that the MHC region has effect sizes that supersede those for any non-MHC locus for most diseases. Thus, an understanding of how particular MHC alleles confer susceptibility will be essential for a comprehensive understanding of autoimmune disease pathogenesis. Here we review recent exciting findings in this important field.
Elsevier