Isolation and structure of HLA antigens

During the past few years the authors have been engaged in isolating the products of the HLA-A, -B, and -D genes and studying their structures. Earlier studies of isolates HLA-A and -B gene products were limited by the small amount of material available from individual human spleens. Now cultured human lymphocytes are used as the source of this genetic material and provide an abundant and reproducible supply. The amount of the HLA-A, -B, and -D gene products on the surfaces of cultured human lymphocytes is about 20-40 times greater than the amount of normal peripheral lymphocytes, a fact that allows these materials to be isolated in reasonable quantities.