Exam 1 Review:  Chapter 17:  Tissue Typing

antigen - A substance (usually composed of protein or carbohydrate) that, when introduced into the body, stimulates the production of a specific immune response, typically a specific antibody, but also various cell-mediated responses; at the molecular level they share three key properties, they are large, structurally variable, and foreign; examples include drugs, toxins, bacteria, other microorganisms, foreign blood cells, and the cells of transplanted organs and tissues.

tissue typing - The determination of the degree of compatibility of tissues or organs from different individuals based on the similarity of histocompatibility antigens, especially on lymphocytes; the techniques are used  in order to minimize antigenic differences between donor and recipient tissue in organ transplantation and the results are a measure of potential rejection in an organ or tissue transplant procedure.

histocompatibility - The state or degree of mutual tolerance between tissues, as a result of having antigenic similarities, especially among the surface markers determined by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which allows them to be grafted or transplanted between individuals effectively

major histocompatibility complex (MHC) - A group of genes which function especially in determining the histocompatibility antigens* found on cell surfaces, and that, in humans, comprise the diverse set of alleles occurring at four loci on the short arm of chromosome 6; these are cell surface markers coded for by the MHC that are used to help coordinate cell-mediated immunity (CMI) in the body and are the key cell surface markers used to assess the probability of a successful match between donor and recipient for all tissue and organ transplants except for blood transfusions.  [*Note:  the histocompatibility antigens are also referred to as the human leukocyte antigens or HLA markers.]

For more information, visit Understanding Tissue Typing.

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