Tshabalala, MqondisiMellet, JuanitaPepper, Michael Sean2016-04-182016-04-182015Tshabalala, M, Mellet, J & Pepper, MS 2015, 'Human leukocyte antigen diversity : a Southern African perspective', Journal of Immunology Research, vol. 2015, art. no. 746151, pp. 1-11.2314-8861 (print)2314-7156 (online)10.1155/2015/746151http://hdl.handle.net/2263/52043Despite the increasingly well-documented evidence of high genetic, ethnic, and linguistic diversity amongst African populations, there is limited data on human leukocyte antigen (HLA) diversity in these populations. HLA is part of the host defensemechanism mediated through antigen presentation to effector cells of the immune system. With the high disease burden in southern Africa, HLA diversity data is increasingly important in the design of population-specific vaccines and the improvement of transplantation therapeutic interventions. This review highlights the paucity of HLA diversity data amongst southern African populations and defines a need for information of this kind.This information will support disease association studies, provide guidance in vaccine design, and improve transplantation outcomes.en© 2015 Mqondisi Tshabalala et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.African populationsImmune systemSouthern AfricaHuman leukocyte antigen (HLA)Article