This edited volume provides insights about the molecular virology, pathoenesis of infection and host responses to varicella-zoster virus, which is a medically important human herpesvirus.The chapters not only discuss genetics and molecular evolution of the virus, but also new structure-based knowledge on the functions of viral glycoproteins. Further, the authors illustrate how mechanisms from the virus are used to take over and remodel host cells during pathogeneis. These mechanisms also enable viral modulation of host cells and evasion of the host immune response. Part of these evasion and...

The formulation and the technological advancements in RNA biology, chemistry, stability, and encapsulated delivery systems that have enabled the development of fully synthetic mRNA vaccines are discussed in this volume. The applications of the mRNA technology is covered, focusing on infectious diseases but also touching on other indications, such as immunotherapies and molecular therapies. Potent and long-lasting immune responses observed in animal models, encouraging data from early human clinical studies, together with the success of two mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines support the use of...

This volume summarizes recent advances in research on mesenchymal cell populations in the bone marrow. It explores how mesenchymal cells create niches for immune cells in extramedullary organs and it discusses new concepts of lympho-hematopoietic microenvironments. Readers are introduced to the fundamentals of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) differentiation to all types of blood cells, including immune cells, in the bone marrow. The book highlights how this process is supported and regulated by the individual microenvironments of stem cells, termed niches.The identity of HSC niches has been...