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.
MRSA Protocols for Methods in Molecular Biology provides a comprehensive collection of the most up-to-date techniques for the detection and investigation of MRSA.
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.
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.
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.
Salmonella: Methods and Protocols presents detailed methods on a variety of aspects of Salmonella research, focusing on those which provide landmarks for future discovery.
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.
It has become clear that tumors result from excessive cell proliferation and a corresponding reduction in cell death caused by the successive accumulation of mutations in key regulatory target genes over time.
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.
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.
