Immunogenetics of Tissue Transplantation

The subject of immunogenetics is not a simple one even (or especially) for workers in the field, and this book is not one that can be scanned quickly. Yet Dr. Lengerova writes clearly and advances her discussion logically from basic conceptual and historical aspects, through the topography and immunochemistry of mouse H-2 antigens into the complexities of tumor antigens and parent-hybrid incompatibilities. There are informative chapters on Y chromosome-determined antigens, the "Eichwald-Silmser effect," and on hybrid resistance as an ostensible exception to the one-gene, one-antigen concept. The monograph is not merely a compendium of references, although the bibliography is extensive and up to date, but is a critical review of existing information. In this regard, the chapters on the thymus-leukemia (TL) antigenic system in mice and on allogeneic inhibition are particularly strong critical appraisals of current knowledge. These chapters indicate the possible relation of the limited phenomena to the general field of alloantigenicity and bone marrow transplantation. It is in fact this continually transmitted sense of where individual elements fit into the field of transplantation genetics that makes the book so valuable.