The acute inflammatory response is the body's first system of alarm signals that are directed toward containment and elimination of microbial invaders. Uncontrolled inflammation has emerged as a pathophysiologic basis for many widely occurring diseases in the general population that were not initially known to be linked to the inflammatory response, including cardiovascular disease, asthma, arthritis, and cancer. To better manage treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of these wide-ranging diseases, multidisciplinary research efforts are underway in both academic and industry settings. This book provides an introduction to the cell types, chemical mediators, and general mechanisms of the host's first response to invasion. World-class experts from institutions around the world have written chapters for this introductory text. The text is presented as an introductory springboard for graduate students, medical scientists, and researchers from other disciplines wishing to gain an appreciation and working knowledge of current cellular and molecular mechanisms fundamental to inflammation.
The understanding of chemokines, the proteins that control the migration of cells, and their receptors, is critical to the study of causes and therapies for a wide range of human diseases and infections, including certain types of cancer, inflammatory diseases, HIV, and malaria. This volume, focusing on chemokines as potential targets for disease intervention, and its companion volume (Methods in Enzymology volume 462, focusing on chemokine structure and function, as well as signaling) provide a comprehensive overview and time-tested protocols in this field, making it an essential reference for researchers in the area. - Along with its companion volume, provides a comprehensive overview of chemokine methods, specifically as related to potential disease therapy - Gathers tried, tested, and trusted methods and techniques from top players in chemokine research - Provides an essential reference for researchers in the field
The Janeway's Immunobiology CD-ROM, Immunobiology Interactive, is included with each book, and can be purchased separately. It contains animations and videos with voiceover narration, as well as the figures from the text for presentation purposes.
The understanding of chemokines, the proteins that control the migration of cells, and their receptors, is critical to the study of causes and therapies for a wide range of human diseases and infections, including certain types of cancer, inflammatory diseases, HIV, and malaria. This volume, focusing on chemokine structure and function, as well as signaling, and its companion volume (Methods in Enzymology volume 461, focusing on chemokines as potential targets for disease intervention) provide a comprehensive overview and time-tested protocols in this field, making it an essential reference for researchers in the area. - Along with its companion volume, provides a comprehensive overview of chemokine methods, specifically as related to potential disease therapy - Gathers tried, tested, and trusted methods and techniques from top players in chemokine research - Provides an essential reference for researchers in the field
Over the last decade, cytokine research has emerged as one of the most exciting and critical fields for providing fundamental knowledge of normal and abnormal human development. Today, it is apparent that cytokines orchestrate growth from the early embryonic stage to maturity and are responsible for the normal function of virtually every organ system. Furthermore, virtually all disease states have been associated, at least in part, with cytokine aberrations. In this volume, the editors have brought together internationally known experts in the field of interleukin research to provide a comprehensive review of the biology of the interleukins and their role in both health and illness, while maintaining a balance between the basic science and clinical aspects. Cytokines: Interleukins and their Receptors should be of interest to a wide variety of researchers including clinical hematologists, oncologists, immunologists, in addition to medical and PhD students and researchers with an interest in cytokines.
The Cytokines of the Immune System catalogs cytokines and links them to physiology and pathology, providing a welcome and hugely timely tool for scientists in all related fields. In cataloguing cytokines, it lists their potential for therapeutic use, links them to disease treatments needing further research and development, and shows their utility for learning about the immune system. This book offers a new approach in the study of cytokines by combining detailed guidebook-style cytokine description, disease linking, and presentation of immunologic roles. - Supplies new ideas for basic and clinical research - Provides cytokine descriptions in a guidebook-style, cataloging the origins, structures, functions, receptors, disease-linkage, and therapeutic potentials - Offers a textbook-style view on the immune system with the immunologic role of each cytokine
This volume covers a state-of-the-art illustration of recent discoveries concerning obesity-related fatty liver diseases and liver cancer. The contents are extensive and comprehensive. It brings important topics in the field all together under one umbrella, from epidemiology and etiology, molecular pathogenesis, cellular biology, epigenetics, immunology, microbiology, animal models to therapeutic approaches and treatments. All the book contributors are leading experts in the field. It will appeal to researchers, clinicians and graduate students in obesity, fatty liver diseases, GI/Liver cancer field. It may also yield benefits for pharmaceutical companies with regard to drug discovery.
Every aspect of immune function and host defense is dependent upon a proper supply and balance of nutrients. Severe malnutrition can cause significant alteration in immune response, but even subclinical deficits may be associated with an impaired immune response, and an increased risk of infection. Infectious diseases have accounted for more off-duty days during major wars than combat wounds or nonbattle injuries. Combined stressors may reduce the normal ability of soldiers to resist pathogens, increase their susceptibility to biological warfare agents, and reduce the effectiveness of vaccines intended to protect them. There is also a concern with the inappropriate use of dietary supplements. This book, one of a series, examines the impact of various types of stressors and the role of specific dietary nutrients in maintaining immune function of military personnel in the field. It reviews the impact of compromised nutrition status on immune function; the interaction of health, exercise, and stress (both physical and psychological) in immune function; and the role of nutritional supplements and newer biotechnology methods reported to enhance immune function. The first part of the book contains the committee's workshop summary and evaluation of ongoing research by Army scientists on immune status in special forces troops, responses to the Army's questions, conclusions, and recommendations. The rest of the book contains papers contributed by workshop speakers, grouped under such broad topics as an introduction to what is known about immune function, the assessment of immune function, the effect of nutrition, and the relation between the many and varied stresses encountered by military personnel and their effect on health.
Fibroproliferative diseases are a broad spectrum of entities from organ-specific involvement (e.g., pulmonary, heart, liver, and kidney fibrosis) to multi-system diseases such as systemic sclerosis and sclerodermatous graft vs. host disease. These diseases also encompass pathophysiologies not readily recognizably related, such as macular degeneration and cancer metastasis. Fibroproliferative diseases are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality and can affect all tissues and organ systems. Remarkable progress in elucidating the pathogenesis of these common diseases with fibrotic components, including the critical roles of myofibroblasts and the molecular mechanisms driving the transcriptional activation involved in the induction of fibrosis. As the importance of these processes is realized in the long-term recovery and treatment of diseases, effective anti-fibrotic therapies targeting the underlying ongoing disease processes are lacking. The complexity of discovering and applying therapies to fibroproliferative disease may be due to the diversity of the systems the pathogenesis of disease itself involves. By nature, fibroproliferative diseases are interdisciplinary, involving multiple cell types (organ-specific epithelial cells), immune cells, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts. Bone marrow, cytokines, and organ-specific pathologies further speckle both the clinical and scientific disciplines in such a way that communication is often limited to the clinical or scientific tribes we live in, despite the greatest access to information known to man available today. Therefore, the primary focus of this text is to bring together authors from a diversity of both clinical, scientific, and therapeutic backgrounds for readers to more fully appreciate that fantastic platform that is available to build upon to lessen the isolation of the clinical and scientific disciplines. With advances in the discovery of pre-clinical therapeutic targets (at least 20+ to date) involving TGF-beta (and other cytokines), transcription factors, and downstream kinases, it’s important to both recognize the broader impact and potential opportunities that exist even today. This book will serve as a state-of-the-art resource for physicians and translational medical researchers alike who are interested in the rapidly evolving field of fibroproliferative diseases. The book will provide new insight into the fundamental mechanisms of classic fibrotic pathophysiologic processes like myocardial infarction, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, chronic kidney disease, wound healing, and systemic sclerosis. It will also highlight the many new areas of therapeutic investigation currently underway. Lastly, we will touch upon newly emerging fields investigating the role of fibrosis in macular degeneration and cancer metastasis. The chapters will be written by established experts in their fields, including clinicians (cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, pathologists, and general practitioners) and translational biomedical researchers in a wide range of disciplines. However, the material will certainly have a broader audience including medical residents, fellows, and general practitioners as well as M.D. or Ph.D. post-doctoral research fellows. While comprehensive, we'll attempt to present the material in a manner that simplifies the complex pathophysiologic mechanisms that underlie common fibroproliferative diseases while making it appealing to a broad audience.
