Diseases and disorders

Neisseria meningitidis is a major causative agent, worldwide, of potentially life-threatening meningitis and septicaemia, which carry with them a high mortality rate and permanent physical and neurological issues for survivors.

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.

Despite the availability of an effective vaccine, there are still 400 million people, worldwide who are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV).

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.

Due in part to the selective nature of telomerase inhibition as an anticancer approach, the field has expanded considerably in the past decade.

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.

In light of the critical contributions of macrophages and dendritic cells to diverse inflammatory diseases and to immunity and host defense, state-of-the-art approaches to the investigation of their behavior are essential.

The Methods in Molecular Medicine series is intended as a resource for both novice and experienced investigators attempting to diversify their tech- logical base in research.

When I was ?

From the early days when RNA interference was a strange artifact in worms to the 2006 Noble Prize received by Fire and Mello and the current clinical trials, the field of RNA interference has grown at a breakneck pace.

A collection of both well-established and cutting-edge methods for investigating breast cancer biology not only in the laboratory, but also in clinical settings.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) represent a promising therapeutic approach for cancer patients by combining the antigen-targeting specificity of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with the cytotoxic potency of chemotherapeutic drugs.

Monoclonal Antibodies: Methods and Protocols examines a collection of state-of-the-art methods that employ monoclonal antibodies in a clinical setting with opening chapters focusing on the gold standard method for generating mouse monoclonal antibodies through hybridoma technology, future methods for engineering recombinant and humanized antibodies, methods for engineering soluble Fc fusion protein, and the use of antibodies and flow cytometry in the quantification of cell signaling proteins.

New and exciting biological functions are still being discovered for vitamin A derivatives, including the vast number of physiological activities of retinoids.

Cancer is a devastating disease that affects millions of people in the world.

Antibodies tagged with fuorescent markers have been used in histochemistry for over 50 years.

A compendium of readily reproducible and novel methods to manipulate DNA viruses and characterize their varied biological properties.

Target Discovery and Validation Reviews and Protocols, Volumes 1 and 2 review the most progressive and current methods for drug target discovery and validation.

A collection of state-of-the-art molecular methods for studying antifungal resistance, for discovering and evaluating both new and existing antifungal drugs, and for understanding the host response and immunotherapy of such agents.

The rapidly growing field of antibody research is the result of many advancing technologies allowing current developments to take advantage of molecular engineering to create tailor-made antibodies.

Over the last few years, the methods for analyzing cancer-related genes on a molecular level have changed rapidly.

Recent advances in molecular and cellular biology techniques have significantly improved our ability to detect, monitor, model and study the underlying molecular basis and pathogenesis of leukemia, yet we are still in an early discovery stage and much more work is needed in order to develop better strategies to diagnose, classify and treat this biologically and clinically diverse disease.

A continuously evolving technique, immunotherapy for the treatment of cancers now incorporates the use of immune cells infused during bone marrow transplants as well as approaches like cell and gene therapy, while stem cell-based therapies, tissue engineering, and targeting have also contributed to the latest successes in pre-clinical immunotherapy studies.

A compendium of optimized methods to measure type I interferon efficacy as an antiproliferative or an antiviral agent.

In the early 1990s, almost 200 yr after Edward Jenner demonstrated the effectiveness of the smallpox vaccine, a new paradigm for vaccination emerged.

Over the past ten years, many powerful new techniques have been developed that have dramatically changed malaria research.

Due to the highly collaborative nature of investigators working in the field, we have rapidly advanced our understanding of Staphylococcus epidermidis and other staphylococci in the last two decades.

A cutting-edge collection of readily reproducible techniques for the isolation, culture, and study of activation and signaling in human mast cells.

Adenovirus Methods and Protocols, Second Edition, now in two volumes, is an essential resource for adenovirus (Ad) researchers beginning in the field, and an inspirational starting point for researchers looking to branch into new areas of Ad study.

Cell Cycle Control and Dysregulation Protocols focuses on emerging methodologies for studying the cell cycle, kinases, and kinase inhibitors.

Sexually transmitted infections (STI) continue to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality, both in developed industrial countries as well as in the developing world.

Cytokines in Human Health: Immunotoxicology, Pathology, and Therapeutic Applications explores the role of cytokines in immunotoxicology and human health using a variety of complex methods, from basic research to highly applied therapeutic applications.

A state-of-the art collection of readily reproducible laboratory methods for assessing chemosensitivity in vitro and in vivo, and for assessing the parameters that modulate chemosensitivity in individual tumors.

Over the last half century, a dramatic increase in allergic diseases has been observed throughout industrialized nations, which has resulted in significant worldwide socio-economic challenges.

With many recent advances, cancer cell culture research is more important than ever before.

In 2003, the word "e;coronavirus"e; spread across the globe, somewhat further than the virus that sparked the panic.

Immunoelectron microscopy is a key technique that bridges the information gap between biochemistry, molecular biology, and ultrastructural studies placing macromolecular functions within a cellular context.

Microtubules are essential components of the cytoskeleton, and play critical roles in a variety of cell processes, including cell shaping, intracellular tracking, cell division, and cell migration.

After decades of research in clinical transplantation, new techniques have been developed that permit a further understanding of the immune mechanisms underlying immune recognition of allografts and a more accurate and thorough evaluation of compatibility between donors and recipients.

Spanning from discoveries in fundamental immunology to industrial and commercial concerns, the study of vaccine adjuvants has developed into an exciting area of work with great, vital potential in innovating techniques in which adjuvants may steer the immune system towards the responses required by unmet vaccination needs.

Despite the availability of an effective vaccine, there are still 400 million people, worldwide who are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV).