Immunogenetics and immunology of transplantation in Leiden.

The historical observation of Jon van Rood that pregnancy can lead to the induction of HLA antibodies (1) was the start of a long history of research on immunogenetics and immunology of transplantation in Leiden. Some of the current research topics are presented in this mini-review. These include amongst others the differential immunogenicity of HLA mismatches in clinical transplantation, a special strategy to transplant highly sensitized patients, new tools to monitor donor specific memory B cells, new parameters for risk assessment in transplant recipients and the importance of the innate immune response in transplantation.