Immunology

Inflammation has been described as the basis of many pathologies of human disease.

Soon after the first description of monoclonal antibodies in 1976, there was enormous interest in the clinical application of antibodies, especially in the context of cancer.

Molecular biologists can no longer afford to be experts in only one par- ticular area.

The first libraries of complementary DNA (cDNA) clones were con- structed in the mid-to-late 1970s using RNA-dependent DNA polymerase (reverse transcriptase) to convert poly A* mRNA into double-stranded cDNA suitable for insertion into prokaryotic vectors.

Since the initial description of techniques to immortalize anti- body-producing B-lymphocytes by fusion with tissue culture-adapted myeloma cells, methods have been developed to produce monoclonal antibodies of defined specificity in multiple animal species.

Derek T.

Vaccine research and development is advancing at an unprecedented pace, with an increasing emphasis on rational design based upon a fundamental und- standing of the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Immunotoxins represent a new class of human therapeutics that have widespread applications and a potential that has not yet been fully recognized since they were first conceived of by Paul Ehrlich in 1906.

Dendritic Cell Protocols provides chapter and verse for many useful practical approaches to the art of studying dendritic cells.

The aim of MHC Protocols is to document protocols that can be used for the analysis of genetic variation within the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC; HLA region).

The complement system, first described more than a century ago, was for many years the ugly duckling of the immunology world, but no more.

The discovery of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) by Epstein, Achong, and Barr, reported in 1964 (Lancet 1:702-703), was stimulated by Denis Burkitt's rec- nition of a novel African childhood lymphoma and his postulation that an infectious agent was involved in the tumor's etiology (Nature194:232-234, 1962).

Antigen processing is a biological process that prepares antigens for the presentation to special cells in the immune system called T lymphocytes.

In recent years, allergy research has focused on the causes and mechanisms of allergy.

Providing current diverse approaches and techniques used to study the immunoproteome, Immunoproteomics: Methods and Protocols collects chapters from key researchers that deliver information to be used in diagnostics, disease progression, and vaccine correlates of protection analysis, to name but a few.

An authoritative collection of optimal techniques for producing and characterizing the immunologically active cells and effector molecules now gaining wide use in the clinical treatment of patients.

Clostridium difficile, a major nosocomial pathogen shown to be a primary cause of antibiotic-associated disease, has emerged as a highly transmissible and frequently antibiotic-resistant organism, causing a considerable burden on health care systems worldwide.

Due to their vital involvement in a wide variety of housekeeping and specialized cellular functions, exocytosis and endocytosis remain among the most popular subjects in biology and biomedical sciences.

Complement Systems: Methods and Protocols is composed of 32 individual chapters that describe a variety of protocols to purify and analyze the activity of the individual complement components or pathways.

Driven by methodological success in identifying reliable lineage markers, regulatory T cells have quickly been recognized as the most numerous subset of immune regulators in the body with critical functions in a wide array of immune responses.

Virus-Host Interactions: Methods and Protocols covers various aspects of virological research, such as biochemical approaches, including molecular interactions and regulatory mechanisms on the protein as well as the RNA level with a strong focus on the manifold possibilities to study protein-protein interactions, as well as cell biological and immunological methodologies.

In this first book dedicated entirely to the ELISPOT, a critical enzyme-linked immunospot assay used widely in biomedical research, recognized experts with first-hand experience detail how to design, perform, and analyze these assays.

Monoclonal Antibodies: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition expands upon the previous edition with current, detailed modern approaches to isolate and characterize monoclonal antibodies against carefully selected epitopes.

Drug delivery systems (DDS) are an important component of drug development and therapeutics.

Many questions remain unresolved as researchers continue to characterize and define the nature of normal immune homeostasis and determine how these processes are dysregulated in immunodeficiency, as well as in autoimmune and lymphoproliferative disorders.

The HLA molecules are important regulators of the immune response through mediating antigen presentation and interaction between key immune mediating cells.

In the last decade, a large number of major discoveries have shed light on the molecular mechanisms of lymphocyte migration and the anatomy of immune responses.

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) has developed rapidly in the last four decades.

The purpose of T Cell Protocols: Development and Activation is to c- lect a series of protocols, particularly those that have been developed within the past few years, to help investigators master new techniques (or improve existing ones) for the study of T-cell Biology.

Neutrophil Methods and Protocols provides a concise set of protocols for assessing basic neutrophil functions, investigating specialized areas in neutrophil research, and completing step-by-step diagnostic assays of common neutrophil disorders.

Inflammasomes have a seemingly simple architecture.

The action of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), ranging from direct killing of invading pathogens to immune response modulation and other complex biological responses, has stimulated research and clinical interest for more than two decades, but the area is still burgeoning due to emerging discoveries in the functions, roles, and regulation of AMPs, thus making the study of antimicrobial peptides a multi-disciplinary and rapidly evolving field.

Immunoinformatics: Predicting Immunogenicity In Silico is a primer for researchers interested in this emerging and exciting technology and provides examples in the major areas within the field of immunoinformatics.

Recent outbreaks of swine influenza and avian influenza, along with the remaining and in some cases expanding threats from HIV, dengue virus, and the viruses causing hepatitis, have reinforced the need for rapid, accurate and cost-effective diagnosis of viral disease.

The introduction of monoclonal antibodies revolutionized immunology.

Continued refinement of wide-spread access to transgenic technology has allowed for new animal models have been developed that exhibit features of autoimmune disease have been developed that exhibit features of autoimmune disease.

Leading clinicians and scientists in solid organ transplantation review the current status of the field and describe cutting-edge techniques for detecting the immune response to the allografted organ.

More than ever, antibodies are being recognized as a major drug modality in a variety of diseases, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, or even neurodegenerative disorders.

Enzyme-linked immunospot assay (ELISPOT) has been known for some time as a unique state-of-the-art technique for studying the cytokine-secreting activity of immune system cells, and it appears to be one of the fast growing applications in biomedical research, becoming an indispensable tool in vaccine development, HIV research, transplantation studies, and cancer and allergy research.

In recent years, the critical role of microRNAs has been revealed within the biology of cells that constitute the immune system.

As the research has continued, it has become increasingly clear that natural killer (NK) cells are critical sentinels of the innate immune response, playing important roles in protecting the body from numerous pathogens and cancer in addition to contributing to normal pregnancy and impacting the outcomes of transplantation.

Glycovirology Protocols reviews the increasing importance of glycosylation to the field of virology, as well as virus replication.

"e;Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.

This book is a collection of protocols, to provide novel techniques for the study of the biology of T lymphocytes.

There have been very few developments that markedly affect the need to greatly revise the text from the last version of this book.

Since its introduction almost 20 years ago, phage display technology has revolutionized approaches to the analysis of biomedical problems, quickly impacting the fields of  immunology, cell biology, biotechnology, pharmacology, and drug discovery.

Immunologists today are interested in all of the diverse cell-types involved in host defense and have a deeper appreciation of the importance of innate immune mechanisms as a first line of protection against pathogens.

Since the publication of the popular first edition, genomic methods have become more accessible, allowing antibiotic researchers to probe not only the sequence of antibiotic resistance determinants but the mechanism whereby they are expressed and regulated.