title: Antibody-reactive epitope determination with HLAMatchmaker and its clinical applications.
abstract: Antibodies against allogeneic human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules are important impediments to the success of different clinical procedures including transplantation and platelet transfusion. In these settings, characterization of the repertoire of immunogenic epitopes is important for permissible mismatch determination and the identification of acceptable mismatches for sensitized patients. HLAMatchmaker is a computer algorithm that considers small configurations of polymorphic residues referred to as eplets as essential components of HLA epitopes. This review critically elaborates the concepts underlying the HLAMatchmaker and describes the usefulness of HLAMatchmaker in the clinical setting. Recent developments have increased our understanding of structural basis of HLA antigenicity (i.e. reactivity with specific antibody) and immunogenicity (i.e. its ability to induce an antibody response).
authors.affiliation: Division of Transplantation Pathology, Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. Duquesnoyr@upmc.edu
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Duquesnoy
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001787:Blood Group Incompatibility; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000378:metabolism; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D016039:Corneal Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D000939:Epitopes / Q000737:chemistry*; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D010641:Phenotype; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012307:Risk Factors; D014180:Transplantation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000939:Epitopes; D006680:HLA Antigens