This volume provides methods to analyze the meningococcus and its interactions with biologically relevant host cells and sites, to interrogate the population structure and biology of the meningococcus that defines its capacity to cause disease, and to aid in vaccine development and surveillance.
This second edition presents methods and protocols to aid readers in the design and execution of experiments used to define critical elements associated with innate immune system function.
This latest addition to the Methods in Molecular Medicine series, Anti- ral Methods and Protocols, is opportune because there is an increasing int- est in discovering compounds that are effective against both chronic and acute viral infections.
The chemokines family of small proteins are involved in numerous b- logical processes ranging from hematopoiesis, angiogenesis, and basal l- kocyte trafficking to the extravasation and tissue infiltration of leukocytes in response to inflammatory agents, tissue damage, and bacterial or viral infection.
Antigen processing and presentation, as a field, explores a broad range of protein interactions and functions, both intracellular (in the cytoplasm and in the endoplasmic reticulum) and at the cell surface (between T cells and MHC molecules).
John Sinclair and a panel of expert investigators present a comprehensive collection of cellular and molecular techniques for the analysis of cytomegalovirus (CMV) biology and its pathogenetic mechanisms.
This book is about melanoma-its biology, immunology, and pathology, as well as the initial use of powerful genomic tools to study its fundamental mole- lar and genetic characteristics.
The worldwide impact of infection with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV- is reflected in the cumulative number ofHIV- 1 infections, which is now predicted to exceed 40 million by the year 2000---equivalent to the n- ber of humans who perished in World War II.
Diabetes mellitus is the collective name for a group of diseases associated with hyperglycemia (high levels of blood glucose) caused by defects in insulin p- duction, insulin action, or both.
Since the discovery of the molecular structure of genes and the unveiling of the molecular basis of numerous human diseases, scientists have been fas- nated with the possibility of treating certain diseases by transducing foreign DNA into the affected cells.
If there is one aspect of current cancer research that represents a major ch- lenge in both novice and experienced researchers, it is the rapid advance in our understanding of the disease.
Interleukins are a family of proteins that regulate the maturation, diff- entiation, or activation of cells involved in immunity and inflammation, and belong to a broader family termed cytokines.
In recent years, molecular techniques have enhanced our ability to detect sexually transmitted infections and to conduct research to further our und- standing of sexually transmitted diseases.
Since the first recognition of outbreaks of cerebrospinal or spotted fever at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries, the menace of the meningococcus has been high on the list of public health prio- ties.
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.
The identification of hepatitis C virus by Michael Houghton and his c- leagues at the Chiron Corporation nearly years ago represented a technical tour de force of modern molecular medicine.
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.
The process of metastasis formation is hugely complex, as described in the introductory chapter of this book, and this complexity has led us to compile two volumes of methods, from a vastly divergent background that attempts to encompass the whole spectrum of cancer biology.
Meningococcal septicemia and meningitis continue to be important causes of devastating illness, death, and long-term disability in both developed and resource-poor countries of the world.
In Volume I, Analysis of Cells and Tissues, we presented a range of protocols aimed at mapping and analyzing the expression of various molecules of pot- tial interest in metastasis research and for examining their production at the genetic level.
The purpose of Renal Cancer: Methods and Protocols is to introduce the surgeon, clinician, investigator, and research scientist to the basic methods employed in the diagnosis and treatment of renal cancer.
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.
The aims of Molecular Diagnosis of Cancer are to introduce scientists and physicians working in the field of diagnostics to the area of cancer molecular pathology and to highlight the possibilities of its application to the cancer physician in the clinic.
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 contents of Colorectal Cancer: Methods and Protocols aim to instruct investigators in all the key genetic, cellular, and molecular biological methods of analyzing colorectal tumors.
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).
The aim of this book is to provide detailed protocols for studying the molecular biology of the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and its int- actions with host cells.
Cancer Genomics and Proteomics: Methods and Protocols provides a compendium of techniques and applications that will be of profound use to researchers interested in gene identification and function.
