Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) Region in Human Population Studies

Abstract

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes function to present processed antigenic peptides to immune cells, hence their major importance in eliciting immune responses. HLA genes have been extensively studied for their disease associations and pre-/posttransplantation applications. Due to their highly polymorphic nature, HLA genes are also used for population genetic studies. This chapter summarizes the structure, functions, nomenclature, genotyping methods, and population genetic applications of the HLA system.