The Discovery of the Biological Function of the MHC

This chapter describes the historical details and events that united the immunopathogenesis of viral infections, the cytotoxic activity of T lymphocytes and the MHC. A variety of factors made it possible to enter a new era in immunology: (a) a new technique to measure T cell cytotoxicity using the 51cromium release assay, (b) the join forces of an immunologist working in virology in Canberra with an immunologist from Lausanne that used the new technique and (c) the existence in the lab of different strains of inbred mice with different H-2 haplotypes. Peter Doherty and Rolf Zinkernagel wrote their names in the “stone book” of scientific discoveries together with those who had identified the thymus-derived lymphocytes (T cells) Jacques Miller and the natural killer cells (NK), Rolf Kiessling and colleagues. Both cells interact with MHC molecules defining their function.