الصفحة 2
الصفحة 2
Crossroads between Innate and Adaptive Immunity
This compilation presents minireviews derived from work presented at the Aegean Conference, which occurred October 9-14, 2005 at the Hilton Conference. Center on the island of Rhodes, Greece. The conference included sessions dedicated to host recognition of and response to pathogens, innate immune networks, antigen presentation, and adaptive immune responses, each headlined by a leading scientist at the forefront of that field. The intimate networking and interaction of dendritic cells, T cells, B cells, NK cells, NK-T cells, and complement during the host response to pathogens and tumors are only now starting to be elucidated.
Lymphocyte Trafficking in Health and Disease
Since the discovery of chemokines and of chemokine receptors it has become evident that expression of chemokines at the site of inflammation may regulate the composition of cellular infiltrate, thereby directing the type of immune response. Recently, the molecular characterization of inherited disorders of immune system, (e.g., Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, WHIM syndrome, leukocyte adhesion deficiency), which are characterized by cytoskeleton/adhesion defects or by altered response of chemokine receptors has contributed to clarifying the key players of immune response in normal physiology and in disease. This book, which deals with the description of the role of chemokines in immune response and underlines potential targets of therapeutical intervention, offers a series of contributions of the most challenging aspects of lymphocyte migration in homeostasis and in disease.
Latency Strategies of Herpesviruses
This is the first book dealing with the intricate epigenetic mechanisms (DNA methylation, histone modification, alteration of chromatin structure) that regulate latency-associated transcription. Special attention is given to immune evasion "tricks" blocking immune responses to herpesvirus infected cells and viral RNAs and proteins involved in malignant transformation.
Chemokines and Viral Infection
This edition of Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology examines the role of chemokines and chemokine receptors in host defense and disease development following viral infection. Chemokines represent a family of over 40 small proteins that, for the most part, are secreted into the environment and function by binding to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that are expressed on numerous different cell types. When initially identified close to 30 years ago, these molecules were associated with various human inflammatory diseases and it was recognized that expression may be integral in leukocyte recruitment to inflamed tissue. There are now four sub-families of chemokines identified based on defined structural criteria relating to the positional location of conserved cysteine residues within the amino-terminus of the protein. Chemokines are now recognized as important in numerous biological processes ranging from maintaining the organizational integrity of secondary lymphoid tissue to participating in various aspects of both innate and adaptive immune responses following microbial infection. With this in mind, this book highlights the functional roles of chemokines and their receptors in participating in various aspects of the immune response against well-known viral pathogens.
Chemokine biology : Basic research and clinical application ; Vol.2 : Pathophysiology of chemokines
Chemokines play an important role in recruiting inflammatory cells into tissues in response to infection and inflammation. They also play an important role in coordinating the movement of T-cells, B-cells and dentritic cells, necessary to generate an immune response (response to injury, allergens, antigens, invading microorganisms). They selectively attract leukocytes to inflammatory foci, inducing both cell migration and activation. They are involved in various diseases, like atherosclerosis, lung and skin inflammation, multiple sclerosis, or HIV. Volume 2 of this two-volume set discusses the pathophysiology of chemokines. It is divided into two parts: a) chemokines in animal disease models, and b) chemokines as drug targets. Together with volume 1, which discusses the immunobiology of chemokines, both volumes give a comprehensive overview of chemokine biology.
Chemokine biology : Basic research and clinical application ; Vol.1 : Immunobiology of chemokines
The discovery of interleukin-8 close to 20 years ago initiated a new field of research touching on many aspects of immunology and inflammation. Interleukin-8 is just one member of a large class of structurally related chemoattractant proteins, known as chemokines. Chemokines are involved in the traffic control of leukocytes, which bear the corresponding chemokine receptors on their surfaces. Today, it is clear that chemokines affect all aspects of immunology and even many unrelated fields, such as tissue development and tumor cell metastasis. Their fundamental contributions to chronic inflammatory diseases make them a principal target for the development of novel, anti-inflammatory therapeutics.
Carbon monoxide in drug discovery, basics, pharmacology, and therapeutic potential
Carbon monoxide, one of the smallest organic natural molecules, is widely known for its toxicity. Formation of CO via incomplete combustion is a major contributing factor to accidental or intentional CO poisoning, leading to severe health consequences or death. In addition, CO is a by-product of tobacco smoking, and has been associated with some of the harmful effects of smoking. However, less known and probably far more important is the recognition of the essential physiological roles of CO as a signaling molecule in mammals. Against over more than a century of negative connotation, the last few decades have proven that CO possesses a multitude of physiological roles and therapeutic functions including regulation of the immune response, cellular proliferation, and control of cell survival. This concept is supported by the discovery that CO is produced by all cells and more so under conditions of stress. This book comprehensively summarizes key aspects of CO's endogenous roles, therapeutic functions, and challenges that we face in its development as a therapeutic agent. We hope this preface will provide a thread for reading this book and a birds-eye view of the landscape for understanding this field, and more importantly lay out the challenges ahead in understanding the detailed mechanisms of action of CO and in its development as a therapeutic agent.
Borrelia burgdorferi : Methods and protocols
Covers the latest advancements and techniques used to understand the fastidious bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, and its significance in infectious disorders by combining both conventional and cutting-edge approaches. This book covers diverse topics, including direct detection, diagnostic methods, immune response analysis, alternative model systems, advanced proteomics, social media analysis, and clinical research. It also discusses unconventional wet lab research such as content analysis, the use of ChatGPT, clinical algorithms for chronic Lyme, establishment of a pregnancy Lyme disease biobank, and investigates Lyme in pregnant women. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.
Atlas effectors of anti-tumor immunity
The “Atlas Effectors of Anti-Tumor Immunity” is a unique scientific publication, which includes major issues of up-to-date information about immunophenotype, morphology and function of main effectors of anti-tumor immunity presented in a reasonable format. The Atlas comprises a large number of illustrations presented by schemes and original micrographs demonstrating morphological features and ultrastructure of immunocompetent cells at various stages of differentiation. The volume includes data referring to the history of anti-tumor immunity effectors research, state of the art and perspectives for development of anti-cancer adoptive immunotherapy methods.A special section of the Atlas describes cellular tumor microenvironment and micro-anatomy of carcinomas. Several parts include data about killer cells (natural killer T-cells, lymphokine-activated killers) and T-regulatory lymphocytes. A special chapter gives a wide-range description of antigen-presenting dendritic cells, methods of dendritic cell generation and development of DC-based vaccines for anti-tumor immunotherapy.
Analyzing T cell responses : How to analyze cellular immune responses against tumor associated antigens
Active specific immunotherapy is a promising but investigational modality in the management of cancer patients. Currently, several different cancer vaccine formulations such as peptides, proteins, antigen-pulsed dendritic cells, whole tumor cells, etc. in combination with various adjuvants and carriers are being evaluated in clinical trials (1-3). To determine the optimal cancer
