Immunopharmacology: A New Discipline of Immense Potential Among the looming triumphs of the biologic revolution is the rapidly developing understanding of the mechanisms of bodily defense. In the short span of 35 years, knowledge of immunologic machinery has progressed from crudest description to major understanding in cellular and molecular terms. Antibodies, immunoglobulins, and the complement system have been almost completely defined in detailed molecular terms. Organs, like thymus, spleen and lymph nodes-so long enigmatic black boxes-are beginning to be understood not only in cellular...

Impressive progress has been made in the general field of immunology which has made possible new understanding and pragmatic approaches to the patient with allergic disease. Indeed, one working in the field of immunology senses a major revolution of immunobiologic thinking, much of which has relevance to the clinical practice of allergy. To the practicing allergist, pediatrician, or internist who must deal with allergic patients, the surging new information may seem confusing and bewildering. As part of our comprehensive series on modern immunobiology which aims to digest this progress, we...

Until recently, understanding of the lymphomas was limited and largely descriptive. Attention has been focused, for the most part, upon morphological issues and clinical matters. Although useful, this approach has many shortcomings. The true cytoidentity of primary neoplastic cells was not established by these methods, nor could their clonal nature be recognized. The more overt changes in immunological function, such as monoclonal gammopathies and immunodeficiencies, were appre ciated as important components of these diseases. However, subtle immunological perturbations were not recognized....

Since the discovery more than thirty years ago that antibody actlvlty could be localized to discrete plasma protein fractions, the study of immunoglobulin struc ture and function has dominated the field of immunochemistry. During this time, sources of homogeneous immunoglobulin molecules have been discovered, the subunit nature of the proteins has been defined, and the three-dimensional struc tures of the antigen-recognition portion of several antibody molecules have been elucidated. Insights into the complicated genetic control of these proteins are being gained rapidly through analysis of...

When we were first approached by the senior editors of this series to edit a book on interactions between the host and infectious agents, we acceptedthis offer as an exciting challenge. The only condition, readily agreed upon, was that such a book should focus on the immunology of infections in humans. Our reasons, if not biases, were severalfold. We sensed that the fields of microbiology and im munolgy, which had diverged as each was focusing on its individual search, were coming together. In agreement with the opinions expressed by Dr. Richard Krause in the Introduction, we strongly...

In the classic sense, immunity is the ability of an organism to resist disease. On the one hand, we must distinguish between age and disease; on the other hand, the interaction between them is of considerable theoretical and practical interest. To the gerontologic research community, therefore, immunity also becomes the ability of an organism to resist age. Were the immune and other protective systems of the body able to maintain themselves over the course of time, and if there were no degradation related to age, the everyday loss of energy and vitality that occurs in the lives of older...

By 1940, immunological mechanisms had been proved to have fundamental influ ences on a great number and variety of skin reactions, and skin diseases had brought to light a great number of fundamental immunological mechanisms that were basic to a wide range of different diseases, dermatological and nondermato logical. The preeminence of dermatological research in the advancement of immu nological knowledge should not astonish anyone. For the skin is not only the most easily accessible tissue for producing and studying immunological reactions, it is also the great organ of protection that meets...

Interest in complement developed at the end of the nineteenth century from observations on cellular and humoral defense mechanisms against bacteria. It was recognized at that time that there were factors in body fluids of animals and man that were capable of killing and lysing bacteria in the absence of cellular factors. Due to the efforts of two of the founders of immunology, Bordet and Ehrlich, and their colleagues, by 1912 the multicomponent nature of complement action was well recognized, the sequence of reaction of the components in the lysis of erythrocytes was defined, complement...