Despite the tremendous diversity of the cells of the hematopoietic system, they are all derived from common precursor cells that are generated in the fetus and persist into adult life. In this regard, Band T lymphocytes, which comprise the two arms of the antigen-specific and inducible immune system, though functionally very different, are descendants of the same stem cell precursor. In the past several years, we have witnessed an explosion of information regarding the process by which differentiation of B-and T-cells from stem cells occurs. This information, like the answers to most...

Autoimmune Reactions tackles fundamental questions about how the immune system can destroy invading microbial pathogens without causing damage to itself and other "self" systems. The authoritative experts writing here explore the mechanistic aspects of such autoimmune diseases as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and autoimmune thyroid disease, and where possible delineate how malfunctioning immunological mechanisms can lead to clinical symptoms. They also discusses possible general mechanisms of autoimmune disease-e.g., molecular mimicry and dysfunctional antigen presentation-and their...

Leading basic and clinical investigators from around the world summarize the most recent research on the molecular and cellular origins of lupus. Their cutting-edge articles review the mechanisms underlying abnormal immunity and introduce the powerful new concept that a disorder of multiple genes underlies the abnormal immune response, leading directly to the development of lupus. This pathophysiology is shown to involve a wide variety of cell types, including T cells, B cells, natural killer cells, macrophages/monocytes, and endothelial cells. Over time, the resulting long-term inflammation...

Caroline Hebert and a panel of key experimentalists and clinical investigators comprehensively review the state-of-the-art in the chemokine field, ranging from the effects of chemokines and their receptors in retroviral infections, to their role in inflammation, angiogenesis/angiostasis, and tumor cell biology. The book examines in detail fifteen recently identified chemokines and elucidates the role of chemokine function in vivo from animal experiments. Animal models are also used to explore how chemokines operate in a variety of chronic and acute inflammatory diseases and in noninflammatory...

Carrying on the high standards of the much praised first edition (Durum and Muegge, Cytokine Knockouts, 1998), Giamila Fantuzzi and a panel of experts have generated completely new chapters to reflect the use of many novel mouse strains and the hundreds of recent studies on cytokine physiology. Comprehensive reviews of the numerous often-surprising results obtained using cytokine knockout mice are provided, along with much important information about cytokine biology and physiology. For those not familiar with cytokine research, the authors present a critical discussion of the advantages and...

A critical review of the classic, as wells as most recent-and quite seminal-findings concerning the phenotypic and molecular characteristics of both fetal and neonatal B and T cells, the cells that mediate antibody and cellular immune responses in newborns and infants. Dr. Bona shows how the antibody response of neonates is modulated by maternal antibodies and how, in certain cases, this can cause transient or life-threatening neonatal autoimmune disease. He also describes the characteristics of neonatal tolerance induced by foreign allo- and self-antigens, which are the basis for...

Discovery of the BLyS (also known as BAFF) family of ligands and receptors has yielded a paradigm shift in our view of B-lymphocyte selection, survival, activation, and homeostasis. Previously, the B-cell antigen receptor (BCR) was viewed as the sole mediator of these parameters, in which BCR signals were not only dominant but were also linearly related to consequent outcomes. However, appreciating that BLyS signaling is an equal partner in establishing and maintaining B-cell pools in- cated that additional regulatory complexity apparently based on population density and homeostatic demands...

A team of expert investigators and clinical researchers comprehensively review complement's basic biology, its role in disease, methods to measure its activity, and strategies for its inhibition in patients. Each chapter focuses on a specific area of basic and applied complement biology, spelling out the activation pathways and complement receptors. Informative animal models are discussed in detail, including the relative values of each model and the important interspecies differences that can distort the interpretation of preclinical studies. The emphasis throughout is on the pros and cons...

The immune system can deal effectively with the majority of viruses and bacteria, less effectively with parasites, and very poorly with cancer. Why is this so? Why are McFarlane Burnet's and Lewis Thomas' predictions that the immune system is in- volved in ridding the body of cancer cells, encapsulated in the catchy phrase "immunologic surveillance," so difficult to experi- mentally establish? Cancer differs from infectious agents in being derived from the host. Hence, it has been postulated that cancer cells lack anti- gens that the immune system can recognize. They are not "im- munogenic. "...

Carrying on the high standards of the much praised first edition (Durum and Muegge, Cytokine Knockouts, 1998), Giamila Fantuzzi and a panel of experts have generated completely new chapters to reflect the use of many novel mouse strains and the hundreds of recent studies on cytokine physiology. Comprehensive reviews of the numerous often-surprising results obtained using cytokine knockout mice are provided, along with much important information about cytokine biology and physiology. For those not familiar with cytokine research, the authors present a critical discussion of the advantages and...