Intestinal Stem Cell Niche


Book Description

Advances in Stem Cells and Their Niches addresses stem cells during development, homeostasis, and disease/injury of the respective organs, presenting new developments in the field, including new data on disease and clinical applications. Video content illustrates such areas as protocols, transplantation techniques, and work with mice. Explores not only reviews of research, but also shares methods, protocols, and transplantation techniques Contains video content to illustrate such areas as protocols, transplantation techniques, and work with mice Each volume concentrates on one organ, making this a unique publication




Colitis-Associated Cancer


Book Description

As the number of patients with colitis-associated cancer (CAC) is on the increase, the purpose of this book is to review the latest topics concerning management of the disease. In recent years, the diagnostic power of endoscopy and molecular pathology has also grown tremendously, as a result of which they now have a far greater influence on the treatment of CAC. At the moment, appropriate monitoring programs for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease remain uncertain. At the same time, the latest findings on DNA methylation and microRNAs hold the promise of making revolutionary changes in these areas. Moreover, recent drug advances in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases have changed surgical indications. On the other hand, the indication of mucosectomy on colorectal cancer in ulcerative colitis and prophylactic abdominoperineal resection for Crohn’s disease remain controversial. This book provides the latest information on the remaining issues of CAC from the point of view of expert surgeons.










Mathematical Modeling of the Immune System in Homeostasis, Infection and Disease


Book Description

The immune system provides the host organism with defense mechanisms against invading pathogens and tumor development and it plays an active role in tissue and organ regeneration. Deviations from the normal physiological functioning of the immune system can lead to the development of diseases with various pathologies including autoimmune diseases and cancer. Modern research in immunology is characterized by an unprecedented level of detail that has progressed towards viewing the immune system as numerous components that function together as a whole network. Currently, we are facing significant difficulties in analyzing the data being generated from high-throughput technologies for understanding immune system dynamics and functions, a problem known as the ‘curse of dimensionality’. As the mainstream research in mathematical immunology is based on low-resolution models, a fundamental question is how complex the mathematical models should be? To respond to this challenging issue, we advocate a hypothesis-driven approach to formulate and apply available mathematical modelling technologies for understanding the complexity of the immune system. Moreover, pure empirical analyses of immune system behavior and the system’s response to external perturbations can only produce a static description of the individual components of the immune system and the interactions between them. Shifting our view of the immune system from a static schematic perception to a dynamic multi-level system is a daunting task. It requires the development of appropriate mathematical methodologies for the holistic and quantitative analysis of multi-level molecular and cellular networks. Their coordinated behavior is dynamically controlled via distributed feedback and feedforward mechanisms which altogether orchestrate immune system functions. The molecular regulatory loops inherent to the immune system that mediate cellular behaviors, e.g. exhaustion, suppression, activation and tuning, can be analyzed using mathematical categories such as multi-stability, switches, ultra-sensitivity, distributed system, graph dynamics, or hierarchical control. GB is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 18-11-00171). AM is also supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and FEDER grant no. SAF2016-75505-R, the “María de Maeztu” Programme for Units of Excellence in R&D (MDM-2014-0370) and the Russian Science Foundation (grant 18-11-00171).




Immunophysiology of the Gut


Book Description

This volume represents Dr. Walker's efforts to integrate intestinal physiology and the mucosal immune system by providing the first comprehensive and systematic survey of information on the immunophysiology of the gut.




Molecular Genetics of Inflammatory Bowel Disease


Book Description

Research in Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), together known as the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), has truly seen a revolution in the last 5-10 years. This book examines how these genetic discoveries have led to the identification of biological functions not previously associated with IBD pathophysiology (e.g. autophagy), how multiple genetic risk factors for IBD converge on given biological functions and that together the identified variants in these genes have predisposing and protective roles (e.g. the multiple variants in the receptor for the IL23 cytokine and its signaling cascade), and how having such a large number of known genetic risk factors has changed our understanding not only about the genetic and molecular overlap between CD and UC, but also between these diseases and other chronic inflammatory diseases (e.g. psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and many others).




Micro- and Nanotechnology in Vaccine Development


Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive overview of how use of micro- and nanotechnology (MNT) has allowed major new advance in vaccine development research, and the challenges that immunologists face in making further progress. MNT allows the creation of particles that exploit the inherent ability of the human immune system to recognize small particles such as viruses and toxins. In combination with minimal protective epitope design, this permits the creation of immunogenic particles that stimulate a response against the targeted pathogen. The finely tuned response of the human immune system to small particles makes it unsurprising that many of the lead adjuvants and vaccine delivery systems currently under investigation are based on nanoparticles. - Provides a comprehensive and unparalleled overview of the role of micro- and nanotechnology in vaccine development - Allows researchers to quickly familiarize themselves with the broad spectrum of vaccines and how micro- and nanotechnologies are applied to their development - Includes a combination of overview chapters setting out general principles, and focused content dealing with specific vaccines, making it useful to readers from a variety of disciplines




Immunopharmacology


Book Description

During the past decades, with the introduction of the recombinant DNA, hybridoma and transgenic technologies there has been an exponential evolution in understanding the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of a large number of human diseases. The technologies are evident with the development of cytokines and monoclonal antibodies as therapeutic agents and the techniques used in gene therapy. Immunopharmacology is that area of biomedical sciences where immunology, pharmacology and pathology overlap. It concerns the pharmacological approach to the immune response in physiological as well as pathological events. This goals and objectives of this textbook are to emphasize the developments in immunology and pharmacology as they relate to the modulation of immune response. The information includes the pharmacology of cytokines, monoclonal antibodies, mechanism of action of immune-suppressive agents and their relevance in tissue transplantation, therapeutic strategies for the treatment of AIDS and the techniques employed in gene therapy. The book is intended for health care professional students and graduate students in pharmacology and immunology.