My intention here is to describe the history of the molecular aspects of the antigen processing field from a personal perspective, beginning with the early identification of the species that we now know as MHC class I and MHC class II molecules, to the recognition that their stable surface expression and detection by T cells depends on peptide association, and to the unraveling of the biochemical and cell biological mechanisms that regulate peptide binding. One goal is to highlight the role that serendipity or, more colloquially, pure blind luck can play in advancing the research enterprise when it is combined with an appropriately receptive mind. This is not intended to be an overarching review, and because of my own work I focus primarily on studies of the human MHC. This means that I neglect the work of many other individuals who made advances in other species, particularly those who produced the many knockout mouse strains used to demonstrate the importance of the antigen processing machinery for initiating immune responses. I apologize in advance to colleagues around the globe whose contributions I deal with inadequately for these reasons, and to those whose foundational work is now firmly established in text books and therefore not cited. So many individuals have worked to advance the field that giving all of them the credit they deserve is almost impossible. I have attempted, while focusing on work from my own laboratory, to point out contemporaneous or sometimes earlier advances made by others. Much of the success of my own laboratory came because we simultaneously worked on both the MHC class I and class II systems and used the findings in one area to inform the other, but mainly it depended on the extraordinary group of students and fellows who have worked on these projects over the years. To those who worked in other areas who are not mentioned here, rest assured that I appreciate your efforts just as much.

中文翻译：

---

抗原处理机制的个人回顾。

我的目的是从个人角度描述抗原加工领域分子方面的历史，从早期识别我们现在已知的MHC I类和MHC II类分子开始，到认识到它们的稳定性， T细胞的表面表达和检测取决于肽缔合，并取决于调节肽结合的生化和细胞生物学机制。一个目标是突出显示偶然性，或者通俗地说，纯净的盲目运气在与适当的接受者思想相结合的情况下可以促进研究事业的作用。这并不是要作一个全面的综述，由于我的工作，我主要专注于人类MHC的研究。这意味着我忽略了许多在其他物种上取得进步的其他个人的工作，特别是那些产生了许多敲除小鼠品系的动物，这些品系用于证明抗原加工机制对于启动免疫反应的重要性。我预先向全球同事致歉，由于这些原因，我对这些同事的贡献不足，并向那些现在已经在课本中牢固确立基础工作，因此未被引用的同事表示歉意。如此众多的人努力推动这一领域的发展，以致几乎所有人都不可能获得应有的荣誉。在专注于自己实验室的工作的同时，我试图指出他人所取得的同时或有时是较早的进步。我自己实验室的成功很大程度上归功于我们同时研究了MHC I类和II类系统，并利用一个领域的发现为另一领域提供了信息，但主要是取决于非凡的学生和研究人员群体这些年来这些项目。对于在这里没有提到的其他领域工作的人，请放心，我也非常感谢您的努力。