Signaling Mechanisms Regulating T Cell Diversity and Function


Book Description

T cells play a vital role mediating adaptive immunity, a specific acquired resistance to an infectious agent produced by the introduction of an antigen. There are a variety of T cell types with different functions. They are called T cells, because they are derived from the thymus gland. This volume discusses how T cells are regulated through the operation of signaling mechanisms. Topics covered include positive and negative selection, early events in T cell receptor engagement, and various T cell subsets.







Cooperation of Liver Cells in Health and Disease


Book Description

It is only during the last decade that the functions of sinusoidal endothelial cells, Kupffer cells, hepatic stellate cells, pit cells and other intrahepatic lymphocytes have been better understood. The development of methods for isolation and co-culturing various types of liver cells has established that they communicate and cooperate via secretion of various intercellular mediators. This monograph summarizes multiple data that suggest the important role of cellular cross-talk for the functions of both normal and diseased liver. Special features of the book include concise presentation of the majority of detailed data in 19 tables. Original schemes allow for the clear illustration of complicated intercellular relationships. This is the first ever presentation of the newly emerging field of liver biology, which is important for hepatic function in health and disease and opens new avenues for therapeutic interventions.







NK Cell Subsets in Health and Disease: New Developments


Book Description

Natural Killer (NK) cells were discovered ca 1975, as the first group of lymphoid cells that were neither T cells nor B cells. Since then, the dissection of the biology of NK cells has been growing exponentially with many seminal discoveries from the identification of MHC class I-specific inhibitory receptors to the discovery of receptor-ligand pairs involved in NK cell activation and to the manipulation of NK cells in cancer. In this research topic, we asked a group of thought leaders in NK cell biology to review recent advances in their origins and biology, and their roles in cancer, infection and inflammation. Together, these 25 articles provide a timely survey of NK cells as critical immunologic components of health and disease. They will hopefully prompt further dialogue and developments in basic and translational immunology.




Liver Immunology


Book Description

Liver Immunology: Principles and Practice, Second Edition begins with important information about the epidemiology and mortality of liver disease worldwide. This information is followed by chapters related to basic immunology, application of liver immunology for diagnosis, and several excellent chapters that provide a solid foundation for understanding immune-mediated liver disease, including those associated with the biliary tree. A chapter on non-hepatic manifestations of immune mediated liver disease helps provide context for how these diseases affect the patient overall. In addition, chapters discuss various discrete immunologically-mediated infectious liver disorders including those related to bacteria, parasites, and all of the classic viruses. Chapters on the traditional autoimmune liver diseases -- primary biliary cirrhosis, autoimmune hepatitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis as well as overlap syndrome – are also included. The breadth of this comprehensive second edition is highlighted by chapters on alcoholic liver disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and drug-induced liver disease, among others. This invaluable new edition ends with a forward-looking view of future directions and how the field might meet the challenge of refractory patients. Developed by a renowned group of authors, Liver Immunology: Principles and Practice, Second Edition will again serve as a comprehensive textbook by providing an excellent overview for this rapidly evolving field. It greatly adds to the understanding of the pathogenesis of these diseases, while also providing novel insights that can be harnessed into helping improve the care of patients afflicted with various immune-mediated diseases. This volume will again be a must-read for clinicians at all levels, investigators and students.




Composite Tissue Allograft


Book Description

The first textbook of its kind dealing with composite tissue allograft and allograft transplantation, provides an excellent overview on the subject. It provides a clear description of the current status of the transplant of every composite tissue allograft already performed and others which are still at the basic experimental level.The editors of the book, who also contribute chapters in their expertise, are world renowned surgeons. This book opens with an introductory chapter on the history of this type of transplantation and then details the clinical experience in each graft such as hand, larynx, face, uterus and the related histopathology, immunosuppression and immunomodulation.A multidisciplinary and comprehensive presentation of the various aspects of this new area of transplantation will allow the reader to understand the complexity and the challenges of composite tissue transplantation. A number of important topics are analyzed and discussed in detail, such as the ethical, medicolegal, psychological and immunological implications. New rehabilitation techniques and strategies, together with innovative tools for the functional evaluation of the transplanted parts, are highlighted. A section on the experimental work underlines what lies ahead of us./a




The Impact of Food Bioactives on Health


Book Description

“Infogest” (Improving Health Properties of Food by Sharing our Knowledge on the Digestive Process) is an EU COST action/network in the domain of Food and Agriculture that will last for 4 years from April 4, 2011. Infogest aims at building an open international network of institutes undertaking multidisciplinary basic research on food digestion gathering scientists from different origins (food scientists, gut physiologists, nutritionists...). The network gathers 70 partners from academia, corresponding to a total of 29 countries. The three main scientific goals are: Identify the beneficial food components released in the gut during digestion; Support the effect of beneficial food components on human health; Promote harmonization of currently used digestion models Infogest meetings highlighted the need for a publication that would provide researchers with an insight into the advantages and disadvantages associated with the use of respective in vitro and ex vivo assays to evaluate the effects of foods and food bioactives on health. Such assays are particularly important in situations where a large number of foods/bioactives need to be screened rapidly and in a cost effective manner in order to ultimately identify lead foods/bioactives that can be the subject of in vivo assays. The book is an asset to researchers wishing to study the health benefits of their foods and food bioactives of interest and highlights which in vitro/ex vivo assays are of greatest relevance to their goals, what sort of outputs/data can be generated and, as noted above, highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the various assays. It is also an important resource for undergraduate students in the ‘food and health’ arena.




Cancer and IgE


Book Description

Erika Jensen-Jarolim and Manuel L. Penichet 1. 1 Background Infectious diseases, being the major burden in the history of mankind worldwide th until the beginning of the 20 century, were important triggers in the understanding of immunological mechanisms. In contrast to infectious diseases, reports of all- gies and cancers were less common, but increased tremendously within the last century. Based on the US mortality data of the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2009, a recent report from the American Cancer Society indicated that the number of cancer deaths increased approximately from 100,000 to 550,000 per year between 1930 and 2006, paralleling the increase of the total population during this period. Leading causes of death from cancer are lung and bronchus cancer, in men prostate cancer, and in women breast c- cer [1, 2]. Normalization to population size shows that the cancer death rate for most malignancies has been generally stable, although the mortality rate of certain malignancies, such as lung and bronchus cancer, has increased over the last 50 years [1-3]. In allergy, the situation is less clear, because for the time period around the turn of th the 19 century, only imprecise information is available. However, within the last 30 years the incidences of allergies has doubled not only in industrial countries, but in developing countries as well [4].