SEROLOGICAL DETECTION OF HLA ANTIGENS AND HLA ANTIBODIES

The discovery of the HLA system as well as the progress of knowledge o ver several decades were based on serological methods. Today, methods of molecular biology tend to replace serological tests for HLA typing, particularly for class II alleles. However, HLA serology is still ind ispensable in all domains where HLA antibodies play a role. In this co ntribution, classical and more recently developed methods of HLA serol ogy are described, and problems and solutions concerning the interpret ation of results are discussed.