MOLECULES OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM HLA Molecules and Chaperones B. Benacerraf (USA) (on the left), J Dausset (France) (in the middle), and G.D. Snell (USA) won the Nobel Prize in 1980 for their discoveries concerning genetically determined structures on the cell surfaces (HLA) that regulate immunological processes. (1) Autologous cells inform each other using expression of identical Class I HLA molecules on cell surfaces throughout the body. (2) Class I HLA molecules provide each person with individual superficial polymorphism. (3) Both Class I and Class II HLA molecules are required for antigen processing and uploading, and presentation to lymphocytes so that the immune responses may progress. (4) Both Class I and Class II HLA molecules are responsible for the power of immune responses. The chaperones matter much for folding HLA and maintaining the grooves before antigen loading. ©V.V.Klimov