Recent progress in the fields of pharmacology and immunology has provided us with new possibilities for treating dermatological diseases. This book reviews the most important immunosuppressive and immunostimulatory drugs and gives helpful, practical information on the treatment of various dermatoses, including autoimmundiseases, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, vasculitis, contact dermatitis, pyoderma gangrenosum, infectious diseases, and neoplasms of the skin - in particular, malignant melanoma.

M. B. A. OLDSTONE Viruses are generally studied either because they cause significant human, animal or plant disease or for their utility as materials to probe a basic phenomenon in biology, chemistry, genetics or molecular biology. Arenaviruses are unusually interesting in that they occupy both of these categories. Arenaviruses cause severe human diseases known primarily as the hemor rhagic fevers occurring in South and Latin America (Bolivia: Machupo virus and Argentina: Junin virus) and in Africa (Lassa virus). Because such viruses produce profound disability and may kill the persons they infect, they are a source of economic hardship in the countries where they are prevalent. Further, they provide new problems for health care personnel owing to the narrowing of the world as visitors from many countries increasingly travel to and from these endemic areas. In addition, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) can infect humans worldwide, although the illness is most often less disabling than those elicited by other arenaviruses. Yet LCMV is likely of greater concern to non-arena-virologists and experimentalists using tissue culture or animals, i. e. , workers in molecular biology, cancer research, virology, immunobiology, etc. , because normal appearing cultured cells or tissues and animals used for research may be persistently infected with LCMV without manifesting clinical disease or cytopathology and transmit that infection to laboratory workers (reviewed OWSTONE and PETERS 1978). For example, HINMAN et al.

The rapid and continuous upsurge of interesting data in the subject of tumor immunology necessitates the publication of an annual series to furnish the updated materials to the students, researchers, and clinicians in this rapidly advancing field. Concepts and methodologies are ever changing. Also, current research in tumor immunology promises to offer breakthroughs in the future. Important is the need to communicate to the right people the exact role of immunodiagnostic methods and immunolog ical intervention in cancer prevention and treatment. The role of immuno therapy in combination with conventional modalities of treatment needs in its proper perspective. Oncogene, interferon, lympho to be understood kines, monoclonal antibodies, natural killer cells, platelet-mediated cyto toxicity of antibody-coated target cells, suppressor cells, platelet-derived factors, plasma-blocking factors, control of suppressor cell function, ab rogation of plasma-blocking factors, etc., are some of the areas that are continually advancing. Progress in these areas will have implication in cancer therapy. Further, it is already understood that if immunocompe tence of the host can be maintained at a reasonably good level, there exists the potential to increase the therapeutic indexes of conventional modalities of treatment. This series will attempt to present updated infor mation in all these areas based on contributed and solicited articles. P. K."

There is no doubt among experts that the prevalence of allergic diseases has increased in many industrialized countries in recent years. The rea sons for this increase are unknown; only suppositions exist. Many people focus on environmental influences. However, the assumption that air pollution alone is responsible for this increase seems to be too simple: many other influences, including the genetic predisposition of individual patients, allergen exposure, and possibly socioeconomic factors, also have to be taken into consideration. Although our understanding of the complex mechanisms of allergic diseases has considerably improved thanks to the progress made in ex perimental immunology and allergology, we still have a long way to go before this scientific knowledge is translated into new therapeutic mo dalities. For this reason, the scientific community welcomed the gathering of scientists from very different disciplines and different parts of the world at an international symposium, "New Trends in Allergy IV" together with "Environmental Allergy and Allergotoxicology III" in Hamburg in 1995. This volume contains the invited papers, covering a wide range from basic science to practical clinical diagnosis and therapy. A further unique feature of this event was the concomitant first official workshop of the Environmental Pollution and Allergy Committee of the International Association of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (IAACI), at which the state of scientific knowledge in this field was defined and formulated."

For more than ten years cell fusion techniques have been applied in studies on various lymphocyte functions. Ig expression was first studied in hybrids obtained by fusing myeloma cells with fibroblasts (1) or lymphomas (2), both of which do not produce Ig, and with Ig producing myelomas (3) or human blood lymphocytes (4). Kohler and Milstein (5) fused a myeloma with spleen cells from immunized mice. Up to 10% of the hybrids obtained secreted antibodies specific for the immunizing antigen. This suggested that plasma cells preferenti ally fused with the myeloma cells, a finding which was of enormous practical value. It was found that both Band T lymphocytes could be fused with the T cell tumor BW5147, which is however not permissive for Ig synthesis (6). A very large number of T cell hybridomas were generated by fusing BW5147 with cell populations containing in vivo or in vitro activated cells (7). The hybrids showed no specific T cell functions and binding assays for T cell receptors were not available. In particular, no hybrids were obtained which expreS1ed specific cytolytic activity that could be tested in short-term Cr release assays (8). However, the frustrations expressed about these failures, published in January, 1978 (9), were relieved by Taniguchi and Miller's publication a few months later of T cell hybridomas producing antigen-specific suppressor factors (10). Unfortunately, their hybrids rapidly lost factor production."

The skin allograft has been used as the test tool since the beginning of investiga tions of the fate of skin transplanted between two individuals of ordinary genetic diversity. This monograph is designed to furnish the transplantation work er with a review of the significant papers in which skin allografts and xeno grafts, applied to experimental animals and man, have played a role in acquiring a body of knowledge concerning the behavior and fate of these transplants and the reaction of the body to their presence. Skin, an essential organ for survival, a barrier between the "milieu inte rieur" of Claude Bernard and the "milieu exterieur," will remain the most frequently used transplant in transplantation research. Because it is highly antigenic, the final solution of the problem of acceptance of allografts of various tissues and organs will probably depend upon the achievement of a permanent survival of skin allografts. My personal interest in transplantation, which originated during my surgi cal training, was rekindled when I met Peter Medawar (today Sir Peter) in England during World War II. I had joined, in 1940, an American Volunteer Surgical Unit (The American Hospital in Britain), organized and headed by Dr."

Fibronectins comprise a class of high molecular weight glycoproteins present both in extracellular matrices and in soluble form in body fluids. Although they have been studied for about forty years, their real significance emerged only during the past decade. Intensive research has focused on their role in platelet function, cell migration, the cytoskeleton, reticuloendothelial function, and on alterations in fibronectin distribution during development and disease. Fibronectins have emerged as glycoproteins with a very interesting set of properties generally involving adhesion of cells to cells or to extracellular material. In more recent years, the complete sequences of several fibronectin molecules and their genes were determined, the relation between structure and function was understood and much has been learned about cell surface receptors for fibronectins and other adhesive ligands. Having been at the forefront of all these exciting developments, the author has synthesized the entire field and with all the latest information at hand for the first time given it a clear perspective.

This volume documents our growing understanding of the human major histocompatibility complex. The application of this information is ever more important as the limits of transplantation continue to be reduced, including the recent success of bone marrow transplantation between unrelated but closely matched individuals. In addition, the need to transfuse platelets in the face of immunologic barriers continues to challenge transfusion services. Thus, the serologic information summarized in this volume is essential for optimal patient care. At the same time, recombinant DNA technology has led to a revolution in our understanding of many aspects of basic biology. Among the advances has been the initial characterization of the structure of some HLA loci. While this will ultimately improve clinical services, constant reference to serologic data is essential so that the powerful new techniques can be applied in the most effective ways. The timing of the First Red Cross International Histocompatibility Workshop is fortunate as it brings together experts from around the world to address the state of the art. We are all grateful to Dr. John Lee and his colleagues for organizing the workshop, and for bringing together in this volume the material to be presented in Beijing during October 17-23, 1990. Leon W. Hoyer, M.D.

During the past decade, there have been numerous direct and indirect scientific contributions to both the etiology and therapy of aplastic anemia and related bone marrow failure syndromes. Clinical observations, such as autologous bone marrow recovery after conditioning with immunosup pressive agents for bone marrow transplantation; failure to achieve en graftment in some identical twins without prior immunosuppressive ther apy; and hematologic response to immunosuppressive agents, have led to the concept of immune-mediated etiology of acquired aplastic anemia. Such a concept was further strengthened by laboratory findings, implicat ing the role of activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes and abnormal produc tion of inhibitory lymphokines. The immunologic mechanisms may also apply to the idiosyncratic bone marrow aplasias associated with drugs, toxic chemicals, and viruses. These agents may alter normal cellular recog nition sites by interacting with cellular components and result in loss of self tolerance. Immunologic mechanisms have long been advocated in many other organ failures, and the hemopoietic organ is no exception. It is of interest that parallel clinical and laboratory investigations in juvenile diabetes mellitus type I and in rodent models of this disease have yielded results compatible with the same pathogenic mechanisms. The infiltration of pancreatic islets by activated T lymphocytes, functional and morphological alterations of islet cells upon incubation with lymphokines such as gamma interferon and tumor necrosis factor, and clinical response to cyclosporine are a few examples."

Vaccines have historically been considered to be the most cost-effective method for preventing communicable diseases. It was a vaccine that en abled global eradication of the dreaded disease smallpo. ."

Through numerous discussions with colleagues it became apparent that the time was right to begin a series of workshop-like meetings on myeloid tumorigenesis. Myeloid tumors are the nonlymphocytic tumors of the hematopoietic system which include tumors of the neutrophilic, monocytic, erythrocytic, basophilic (mast cell) and megakaryocytic lineages. Pioneering studies in myeloid tumorigenesis were initially made in chickens with the discovery of retroviruses that induce various kinds of myeloid tumors acutely (myelocytomatosis, myeloblastosis, and erythroblastosis). These avian retroviruses were subsequently shown to contain the oncogenes v-myb, v-~, v-~, v-erbA, or v-erbB. There have been dramatic advances in studying the pathogenesis of hematopoietic tumors in genetically defined mammalian systems. Many of the well developed model systems in inbred mice, have focused on T- and B-1ymphoma development. Although myeloid tumors have been found in mice, they have not been studied as intensively as lymphoid tumors. Possibly this is because myeloid tumors are less common than lymphoid tumors. Recently, there has been renewed interest in murine myeloid tumor systems. This focus has resulted from 1) the discovery of inbred strains of mice (e. g. BXH-2, AKXD- 23, SJL/J) that are highly susceptible to spontaneous or induced myeloid tumorigenesis; 2) establishment of transplantable murine myeloid tumors (e.

Antibodies are crucial to the fine specificity of the immune system. An effective functioning of these molecules requires interaction with immune cells. Receptors for antibodies, Fc receptors, provide this critical link between the humoral and cellular branches of the immune system. This book presents a comprehensive overview of the different Fc receptors currently recognized. The first part of the book contains state-of-the-art overviews on the biological role of FcR. The latest information on FcR heterogeneity, FcR physiology, FcR-ligand recognition, their crucial coordinating role in immunity, interactions with other immunoreceptors, and the role of FcR in immunoglobulin transport and catabolism are discussed. The clinical importance of FcR is developed in the second part of the book. The well-recognized roles of FcR in allergy, inflammation, infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders, and immunotherapeutic importance are reviewed. The information in this book is easily accessible and should be helpful for researchers and clinical specialists as a convenient overview of the field, as well as a comprehensive introduction for students starting in this area of research.

Allergy is one of the major health problems of most modern societies. Allergic diseases have increased in prevalence during the last decades; the reasons for this increase are unknown, there are only hypothetical concepts for explanation. The series New Trends in Allergy now covers five volumes origin- ing from special international symposia, started in 1980 and held every 5 years, which highlight specific areas of progress in allergy research and practice. The idea behind the 5-year interval between these s- posia is that real new developments do not occur very often and c- tainly not every year. The contents of this book focus on specific areas where progress in allergy research has shown fascinating developments, such as: - Elucidation of the complex genetic basis of atopy - The influence of environmental pollutants as well as natural biolo- cal environmental factors on allergy - Gene-environment interactions in the development of allergy - Psycho-neuro-immunological aspects of allergic sensitisation and disease - The nature and function of dendritic cells in skin and mucous m- branes - Interactions between lymphocytes and effector cells, such as mast cells, eosinophils and neutrophils - Allergen carriers, allergen release and bioavailability, allergen str- ture - Atopic eczema - Asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis - Food allergy and anaphylaxis - Pharmacotherapy - Unspecific (e. g.

This monograph covers the entire field of blood group serology, with its main emphasis on the chemical and biochemical basis of blood group specificity. Full consideration is given to molecular biology investigations, in particular to studies on the structure of blood group genes and the molecular biological basis of alleles and rare blood group variants, whereby relevant literature up to the year 2000 is covered. The text is supplemented by numerous illustrations and tables, and detailed reference lists.

Diabetes mellitus represents one of the most frequent and serious clinical syn dromes in contemporary medicine. Since the end of the nineteenth century, the endocrine pancreas has been implicated in the pathogenesis of this disease. Several pathologists of the twentieth century detected various lesions and mor phologic alterations in the pancreatic islets of diabetic patients, but the patho physiologic basis of their findings remained long obscure. The systematic mi croscopic work of WILLY GEPTS clarified the views and related the variety in histopathology to differences in origin, duration and clinical expression of the disease. Over the past two decades, the concept of a multifactorial origin of diabetes has become widely accepted. Various agents and mechanisms have been identified which can lead to a quantitative or qualitative deficit in pancre atic B-cells. The purpose of this book is to bring an update on the many path ways which may induce an absolute or relative insufficiency in insulin release and hence a diabetic state. Rather than bringing a complete account on all re search relevant to the understanding of the pathology of the diabetic pancreas, the authors of the various chapters of this volume have focussed on selected processes which can impair B-cell function, survival or regeneration.

When I entered the field of allergy in the early 1970s, the standard textbook was a few hundred pages, and the specialty was so compact that texts were often authored entirely by a single individual and were never larger than one volume. Compare this with Allergy Frontiers: Epigenetics, Allergens, and Risk Factors, the present s- volume text with well over 150 contributors from throughout the world. This book captures the explosive growth of our specialty since the single-author textbooks referred to above. The unprecedented format of this work lies in its meticulous attention to detail yet comprehensive scope. For example, great detail is seen in manuscripts dealing with topics such as "Exosomes, naturally occurring minimal antigen presenting units" and "Neuropeptide S receptor 1 (NPSR1), an asthma susceptibility gene." The scope is exemplified by the unique approach to disease entities normally dealt with in a single chapter in most texts. For example, anaphylaxis, a topic usually confined to one chapter in most textbooks, is given five chapters in Allergy Frontiers. This approach allows the text to employ multiple contributors for a single topic, giving the reader the advantage of being introduced to more than one vi- point regarding a single disease.

Due to the topology and structure of the lymph nodes, their role in the pathogenesis and development of diseases is a very special one. Each organ and even each organ-related region of the body has its own group of lymph nodes, specific topological reactions, such as in circumscribed inflammation or in the metastatic spread of malignant tumors. On the other hand, all the lymph nodes of an organism join in a uniform function effected by highly differentiated structures. Volume 84 of Current Topics in Pathology presents our current knowledge about the structure and reaction patterns of this "sec ondary" lymphoid organ. Despite our original intention to publish all the contributions in one book, it became necessary to divide them: Part 1 focuses on the involved nodal compartments, cell types, and functions, while Part 2 describes their reactions in inflammatory, neo plastic, and immune-deficient diseases. Even with the cooperation of more than 30 authors, the coverage cannot be exhaustive. The scope of both parts is limited to those reactions that can be described by direct and indirect morphological methods, including modern tech niques such as immune electron microscopy."

"Immunopharmacology" , why not "pharmacoimmunology"? Professor H. O. Schild University College London, 1962 An intact immune response is essential for survival, as is evidenced by the various innate immune deficiency syndromes and by the emergence of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) as a pandemic during the last decade. Substances which stimulate the immune response might contribute to the therapy of AIDS and its precursor, AIDS-related syndrome, as well as of other clinical conditions in which immune responses can be diminished, such as carcinoma and infections. In other circumstances, an intact or heightened immune response may pose clinical problems; hence there is need to suppress, or diminish, components of the immune response. For instance, it is necessary to impair cellular immunity in order to ensure lasting acceptance of heterografts and it is already established that agents effective in transplantation are therapeutically effective in an range of autoimmune diseases. More recently, experimental studies have indicated that aberrant manifestations of humoral immunity, as in allergies, may also be amenable to pharmacological intervention.

The papers in this book were presented at the 6th Workshop on Mechanisms in B-Cell Neoplasia, held in Bethesda, March 23-25, 1988. On alternate years this meeting is sponsored by the . ;. Basel Institute of Immunology in Basel, Switzerland and by the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, and is attended by 100 to 150 parti cipants. This 6th workshop, like the preceding five, was characterized by intense and enthusiastic discussion which reflects, we think, the exciting growth and development of this field. It is quite clear, however, that despite many general advances an understanding of the precise underlying mechanisms in B-cell tumor development is not yet defined. Probably, there is no single mechanism for all the various forms of B-cell neo plastic development. Many different forms of B-cell neoplasms are known, and these are distinguished by several characteristics: 1) the stage of development attained by the tumor stem cells; 2) mode of growth (slow or fast); 3) association with natural or inductive etiologic agents and 4) specific and consistent mutational mechanisms such as retroviral insertion, chromosomal rearrangement. Those charac teristic forms which arise naturally in relatively high frequency or those tumors with hallmark properties which can be induced consistently are the models most frequently studied, e. g. , endemic Burkitt's lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, acute and chronic lymphocytic leukemia and mUltiple myeloma in man; bursal lymphoma in chickens; Abelson virus induced pre B cell lymphomas and plasmacytomas in mice and immunocytomas in rats. Each model system, has special problems and advantages.

There is now widespread recognition that emotional problems, to say nothing of the interactions of emotions with other manifestations of illness and disease, constitute a substantial component of all human suffering. For too long the pro vision of medical care has been restricted to the physical aspects of that suffer ing while the psychological aspects have been shunned. Whether through igno rance about the nature of emotional illness and its clinical management, or through uncertainty about the legitimacy of their ministrations, physicians and many other health professionals have left the care of psychiatric problems to psychiatrists and other mental health professionals. For a variety of reasons this strategy is no longer feasible and substantial changes are required. The extent of the needs, the nature of the presenting problems, the ex pectations of the patients, the prohibitive costs of alternative approaches, and the lack of trained mental health professionals make it imperative that general health workers learn to cope with the psychological and behavioral health prob lems of their patients. There are no other alternatives if the realities of comtem porary suffering, limited resources and psychobiological knowledge are accepted. It is to the pragmatic knowledge base for this essential component of contemporary health care that this book makes a seminal contribution. Dr."

Die Beitrage dieses Buches beschaftigen sich mit Autoimmunitat, Immuntherapie des Typ-I Diabetes, Virusgenese, Insulintherapie und -allergie. Schwerpunkte liegen auf den dynamischen Aspekten der Insulinsubstitution unter Berucksichtigung einer angepassten Diat und der Therapie mit oralen Antibiotika, Insulinen und Pro-Insulinen. Gleichzeitig wird anhand der Makro-Angiopathie und der Neuropathie auf die Auswirkungen der dynamischen Insulinsubstitution bei Sekundarkomplikationen hingewiesen. Die Moglichkeit der computerunterstutzten Therapiefuhrung und glukosesensorgesteuerten Biofeedback-Kontrolle werden vorgestellt. Ein umfangreiches Kapitel vermittelt den aktuellen Stand der experimentellen Forschung und der klinischen Anwendung der Pankreas- und Inselzelltransplantation.

The European Study Group for Cell Proliferation held its XVth Meet ing at Sundvolden, Norway, in September 1987. The program included a symposium on the cell kinetics of the in flammatory reaction, with invited speakers. This volume of Current Topics in Pathology contains the manuscripts submitted by the speak ers. Inflammation is a very broad area, and the cell kinetics of the inflammatory reaction comprises a large number of topics. A full cover age would fill more than one book. This volume therefore contains only a few of the important aspects of the cell kinetics of the inflammatory reaction. It is hoped that it will serve as inspiration for further research in this important area. Inflammatory diseases are even more important than cancer, and there is a great need for a more detailed information about inflammation. OLAV HILMAR IVERSEN Contents Chapter I The Cell Kinetics of the Inflammatory Reaction. Introduction and Overview."

In recent years the field of contact dermatitis has increased greatly in importance in dermatology. The variety of exogenous, environmental ly caused dermatoses has undoubtedly expanded over the past few de cades with the increasing number of potentially toxic chemicals, the changes in lifestyle, and the greater life expectancy in industrialized societies. The value of international cooperation in this field has long been realized and acted upon by the International Contact Dermatitis Re search Group (ICDRG). By 1975 the international journal Contact Dermatitis had been founded under the editorship of C. D. Calnan. Thanks largely to the ICDRG and Contact Dermatitis, there were, by 1986, enough additional dermatologists and scientists with a special interest in this area to form the European Environmental and Contact Dermatitis Research Group (EECDRG). Within 2 years they had in stituted the European Society of Contact Dermatitis (ESCD) as an in ternational forum for researchers in the field. The EECDRG decided to hold a symposium in Heidelberg in May 1988, an initiative supported by the ICDRG, and on this occasion the new ESCD held its inaugural session. The Society already has over 200 members and most national contact dermatitis research groups in Europe are already represented; new members are of course welcome. Subgroups and working committees have been formed to address var ious topics including the standardization of patch testing, photoder matology, and bioengineering."

The volume contains the main papers presented at the 1994 EUROTOX Congress, Basel, Switzerland, August 21-24, 1994. Toxicology has become a less descriptive science because more importance has been placed on the mechanisms underlying toxic effects. This is reflected in symposia and workshops devoted to species differences in organ toxicity, receptor-mediated toxicity and stereochemical effects of xenobiotics. Recent progress in the fields of immunotoxicology, ecotoxicology, and neurotoxicology is highlighted and documented together with the present discussion on harmonized regulatory guidelines.

Starting in 1986, the European School of Oncology has expanded its activities in post graduate teaching, which consisted mainly of traditional disease-orientated courses, by promoting new educational initiatives. One of these is the cloister seminars, short meet ings intended for highly qualified oncologists and dealing with specific, controversial aspects of clinical practice and research. Another is the institution of permanent study groups, also called task forces, where a limited number of leading experts are invited to meet once a year with the aim of defining the state of the art and possibly reaching a consensus on developments and treatment in specific fields of oncology. This series of ESO Monographs was designed with the specific purpose of disseminat ing the results of the most interesting of the seminars and study groups, and providing concise and updated reviews of the subjects discussed. It was decided to keep the layout very simple in order to keep costs to a minimum and make the monographs available in the shortest possible time, thus overcoming a com mon problem in medical literature: that of the material being outdated even before publication. Umberto Veronesi Chairman, Scientific Committee European School of Oncology Position Paper on the Application of Human Tumour Xenografts as a Model for Preclinical Phase" Studies in the Evaluation of New Anticancer Compounds Outcome of a seminar on Human Tumour Xenografts organised by the European School of Oncology, Milan, 26th-27th May, 1986.