title: The H-Y antigen and its role in natural transplantation.
abstract: A concise overview of the transplantation biology of the H-Y antigen is presented with particular reference to: its prototypic behavior as a weak transplantation antigen; the facility with which mice of certain inbred strains can be rendered tolerant of H-Y incompatible skin grafts; its capacity to instigate graft-versus-host reactions; its significance in clinical transplantation; and finally, H-2 control of anti-H-Y immune responses. The role of the H-Y antigen in natural transplantation, i.e. pregnancy, is then reviewed. Evidence is presented to support the hypothesis that in certain cases maternal immune responses directed specifically to the H-Y antigen can exert selective pressures on male zygotes, producing deviant sex ratios in certain experimental and clinical situations.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006087:Graft vs Host Reaction; D006183:H-2 Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D006182:H-Y Antigen / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007114:Immunization; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D011247:Pregnancy; D012733:Sex Differentiation; D012744:Sex Ratio; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology; D014998:Y Chromosome
chemical_list: D006183:H-2 Antigens; D006182:H-Y Antigen; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II