DendrStic cells induce HLÄ-DP-specifSc T-cell prolfferatlon between MIR- negative sibiings

The MHC genes encoding class II HLA-DP antigens map centromerically of the HLA-DQ loci on the short arm of chromosome six (Shaw et al. 1981). These HLA-DP antigens have originally been identified by cellular typing reagents (Shaw et al. 1980; Pawelec et al. 1982). At present, different molecular genotyping techniques are available to explore the DPB1 locus polymorphism. More allelic sequences are currently recognized for the DPB1 locus than for the DQA1 or DQB1 loci. DPB1 is herewith the second most polymorphic MHC class II gene after the DRB1 locus (Marsh and Bodmer 1994). HLA-DP molecules can function as restriction molecules in antigen presentation (Eckeis et al. 1983). They have been indicated to act as transplantation antigens in kidney allografting (Bonnevüle et al. 1988). In bone marrow transplantation, incompatibilities for HLA-DP between HLA-matched bone marrow donor and recipient have been shown to correlate with acute graft versus host disease (Odum et al. 1987; Eiermann et al. 1992). HLA-DP disparities can be detected