# Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren

Source: https://onco.cc/people/hans-gustaf-ljunggren/  
OnCo record `hans-gustaf-ljunggren` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren proposed the missing-self hypothesis of NK cell recognition.

## Summary

Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren is Professor of Infectious Medicine at Karolinska Institutet and works at the Center for Infectious Medicine at Karolinska University Hospital. His specialisms are NK cell biology, missing-self recognition and cell therapy. With Klas Kärre he formulated the missing-self hypothesis, which explains how natural killer cells attack cells that lack MHC class I molecules. His Immunology Today paper set out this search for the missing self in NK cell recognition. The hypothesis is a foundation for NK-based cancer immunotherapy, including CAR-NK approaches. His publications are listed on PubMed.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Role: Professor of Infectious Medicine, Karolinska Institutet; Center for Infectious Medicine
- Specialisms: NK cell biology; Missing-self recognition; Cell therapy

## Sources

- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Ljunggren%20HG%5BAuthor%5D%20missing%20self

## Connected records

- technologies: [CAR-NK & CAR-macrophage](https://onco.cc/technologies/car-nk-macrophage/)
- institutions: [Karolinska University Hospital](https://onco.cc/institutions/karolinska/)

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