The field of immunology has progressed so much since the first edition of this book was published seven years ago, that this fully updated s econd edition appears as a major new work. Its wide scope, depth of co verage, and eminence of authorship make it unique in the field. The bo ok is well-illustrated, and there are over 1900 references cited.

What makes a cell begin the complicated process of cell division? How does it stop? What happens when things go wrong? The use of developing technologies has revealed the extraordinary degree to which cell cycle control mechanisms have been conserved through eukaryotic evolution. This is the first book to cover the cell cycle field in the wake of groundbreaking research from the past five years. A historical look at cell cycle findings places this new knowledge into perspective and demonstrates the universality of cell cycle control, from the evolutionary process to cancer research and...

Protozoans are interesting creatures for several reasons, not least of which is their ability to live inside or among the cells of their hos t while resisting the host's cellular defences. The rigours of their l ifestyle have resulted in the evolution of some remarkable adaptation at the biochemical level; many parasites have dispensed with entire me tabolic pathways, and have evolved complex mechanisms for transmission to new hosts. Parasitic protozoa cause some of the major infectious d iseases of humans and domestic animals. In recent years, new molecular biological techniques have opened...

Cytokines are soluble mediators of intercellular communication. They contribute to a chemical signalling language that regulates development, tissue repair, haemopoiesis, inflammation and the immune response. Potent cytokine polypepides have pleiotropic activities and functional redundancy. They act in a complex network where one cytokine can influence the production of, and response to, many other cytokines. In the past five years, this bewildering array of more than 100 effector molecules and associated cell surface receptors has been simplified by study of cytokine and cytokine receptor...

This unique book integrates knowledge from a wide range of expertise, specifically applied to the mouse and addressed at a wide audience fro m those new to the field to experts who want an update on the state of the art. Mouse Genetics and Transgenics: A Practical Approach covers all aspects of using the mouse as a genetic model organism: care and h usbandry; archiving stocks as frozen embryos or sperm; making new muta tions by chemical mutagenesis; transgenesis; gene targeting; mapping m utations and polygenic traits by cytogenetic, genetic, and physical me ans; and disseminating and...

In the light of new information from the genome sequencing projects and the increase in structural information, this book brings together concepts and systems pertaining to protein-protein interactions in an examination of how and why proteins form complexes with each other. The emphasis of the text is on heteromeric complexes and uses well-studied model systems to explain the processes of forming complexes. There is an introductory section on the kinetics, thermodynamics, analysis, and classification of protein-protein interactions. Electron transfer proteins and integrin complexes represent...

The growth and differentiation of living organisms are continuously adjusted to a multitude of environmental factors, each of which underlies a perpetual variation. The sessile existence of plants further emphasizes the requirement for efficient adaptation and defence mechanisms. The changes in environmental factors may range from moderate to dramatic and can concern many components at the same time. They may be abiotic or biotic in nature and range from essential to toxic in their effects. Among the numerous abiotic factors are nutrients, light, oxygen, water, temperature, gravity, wind,...