Immune checkpoint blockade therapy targeting CTLA4 and PD-1/PD-L1 is a promising
strategy in the treatment of different types of cancers. However, the clinical success rates of …

Variation in female reproductive traits, such as fertility, fecundity, and fecundability, are
heritable in humans, but identifying and functionally characterizing genetic variants …

In the last 20 years, the study of human natural killer (NK) cells has moved from the first
molecular characterizations of very few receptor molecules to the identification of a plethora …

The murine cytomegalovirus immunoevasin m152/gp40 binds major histocompatibility
complex (MHC) class I molecules and retains them in the early secretory pathway by a …

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-F has been involved in immune regulation of infectious
diseases. However, the role of HLA-F polymorphisms in hepatitis B infection outcomes …

HLA molecules scan the intracellular proteome and present self-or non-selfpeptides to
immune effector cells. HLA-Ia (HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-C) are the most polymorphic genes …

The function of the vertebrate immune system is to enable recognition and elimination of
microorganisms that can cause harm (pathogens). A key component in adaptive immunity is …

Natural killer (NK) cells recognize and kill cancer cells and infected cells. How NK cells
discriminate between cancer cells and normal cells is not fully known. In this thesis we have …

Cellular immune responses are orchestrated by an intricate balance of activating and
inhibitory signals transmitted by cell surface receptors. Perturbations in this balance by …

Unraveling the molecular etiology of a novel phenotype is still a major challenge.
Mammalian pregnancy, a novel phenotype, preserves its stepwise evolution in extant …