The consequences of diseases involving the immune system such as AIDS, and chronic inflammatory diseases such as bronchial-asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and atherosclerosis, now account for a considerable economic burden to governments worldwide. In response there has been an enormous research effort investigating the basic mechanisms underlying such diseases, and a tremendous drive to identify novel therapeutic applications for their prevention and treatment. Though a plethora of immunological studies have been published in recent years, little has been written about the implications of such research for drugs development. As a consequence, this area has not gained the prominence of other fields such as molecular pharmacology or neuropharmacology, and a focul information source for the many pharmacologists interested in diseases of the immune system remains unpublished.
The Handbook of Immunopharmacology series provides such a source through the commissioning of a comprehensive collection of volumes on all aspects of immunopharmacology. Editors have been sought after for each volume who are not only active in their respective areas of expertise, but who also have a distinctly pharmacological bias to their research.
The series follows three main themes, each represented by volumes on individual component topics. The first covers each of the major cell types and classes of inflammatory mediators ("cells and mediators"). The second covers each of the major organ systems and the diseases involving the immune and inflammatory responses that can effect them ("systems"). The third covers different classes of drugs currently used to treat these diseases as well as those under development ("drugs").
This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the adhsion molecules, processes and concepts that govern both inflammatory and infectious diseases, and also deals in detail with the specific in vivo pathways involved.
The first chapter introduces some of the molecules that mediate leukocyte adhesion and ranges from their discovery using monoclonal antibodies and a congenital adhesion deficiency, to their antagonism in preliminary clinical trials as novel therapeutics. An in-depth analysis of the structure, distribution and function of the cell surface glycoproteins that regulates lymphocyte (specific immune response), granulocyte (acute inflammatory response) and metastatic cell (malignant processes) adhesions respectively is provided by the next three chapters. Chapters 5 and 7 detail the molecular structure, intracellular pathways, specificty of carbohydrate interactions, and signalling of the molecules that regulate leukocyte-leukocyte and leukocyte-mesenchymal cell interactions.
There follows an exploration into the contributions of specific molecules in inflammatory diseases in various organs from chapters 8-11. The concluding part is unique to this volume by reviewing the comparable, and in some cases same, cell surface molecules that mediate virus, bacteria and parasite interactions with host cells.
The research is far from complete, but Adhesion Molecules is extremely comprehensive and will be a valuable resource for many a year to come.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an enigmatic immune mediated disease of the central nervous system that affects about 350,000 individuals in the US, and many more around the world. The mechanism of this disease is largely unknown and there is no cure for it. However, there are several well-characterized experimental animal models that help us understand and speculate about potential mechanisms of pathology in this disease. Many of the experimental therapies designed for this disease rely on testing the drugs in animal models before using it in clinical trials. This book combines for the first time the different experimental models for MS (including immune-mediated and viral) under one roof, and highlights aspects that are different or shared among these experimental models. It 's aim is to improve our understanding of this devastating disease and help us think about potential additional therapies for it.

This book presents current recommendations for vaccination for pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis in all suitable target populations and groups. It provides immunization guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for health care workers and others at occupational risk of exposure and for routine vaccinations by the Immune Practices Advisory Committee of the Centers for Disease Control.;Covering all aspects of the production, testing and applications of Hepatitis B vaccines, this book: lists all available vaccines worldwide; discusses all serological assays in the field; examines how the vaccine was tested in international clinical trials; describes new programmes for universal immunization of infants; and reveals how the vaccine may prevent some forms of hepatocellular carcinoma.;The book should be of interest to: infectious disease specialists, clinical virologists, immunologists, haematologists, oncologists, hepatologists and gastroenterologists, paediatricians, pharmacologists, molecular biologists, biochemists, biotechnologists, genetic engineers, occupational safety administrators and public health specialists; and upper level undergraduate, graduate and medical school students of these disciplines.

This reference spotlights the immunologic aspects of applying interferon-gamma to the treatment of infectious diseases - revealing the current knowledge of the biology and potential utility of interferon-gamma.;Written by more than 30 leading investigators in the field, Anti-Infective Applications of Interferon-Gamma: presents information according to specific patient populations and pathogens; focuses on only the most promising of emerging therapeutic agents; furnishes a detailed update of the pleiotropic role of interferon-gamma in host defense; and studies clinical and preclinical experiences in a broad variety of disease indications.;Containing over 900 bibliographic citations for further research, this book should be useful for infectious disease specialists, pharmacologists, immunologists, surgeons, pediatricians, parasitologists, hematologists, virologists, microbiologists, pathologists, oncologists and tropical medicine specialists.

This book provides essential worldwide reference information regarding rabies for public health officials, veterinarians, physicians, virologists, epidemiologists, infectious disease specialists, laboratory diagnosticians, and wildlife biologists. The book is divided into six main sections, covering topics such as the rabies virus, including antigenic and biochemical characteristics; pathogenesis, including the immune response to the infection, pathology, and latency; diagnostic techniques; rabies epidemiology in a variety of wild and domestic animals; rabies control, including vaccination of wild and domestic animals, as well as control on the international level; and finally a discussion of rabies in humans, local wound and serum treatment, and human post-exposure vaccination. Natural History of Rabies, First Edition has been the principal worldwide reference since 1975. The new Second Edition has been completely updated, providing current information on this historically deadly disease.

This fascinating book describes the history, and epidemiology in both man and animals, and clinical features of this zoonosis. It reveals detailed information pertaining to the basic science aspects of the interaction of Coxiella burnetii, the etiologic agent of Q (Query) fever, with the host and the immune response of the host to this unique pathogen. This one-of-a-kind work uses the rules of epidemiological evidence to determine whether or not Coxiella burnetii is a perinatal pathogen for man. This interesting, easy-to-understand text concludes with chapters dealing with the antibiotic susceptibility of Coxiella burnetii and the studies that resulted in a vaccine that now can be used to prevent this infection. This volume is an absolute must for all microbiologists, respirologists, infectious disease physicians and veterinarians.

Five Stars. "Best book available if you want to learn about molecular techniques applied to clinical pathology." - Ruben A., Amazon Reviewer Five Stars. "Easy read. helped me to pass ASCP molecular bio certification exam." - Amazon Reviewer The only book you need to become certified. "Excellent book, full of details and clinical information. In addition, it describes very complexed concepts in a very easy way to understand including comprehensive diagrams." - Ruben G., Amazon Reviewer MB(ASCP) must read. "This is a must read for those laboratory professionals trying to advance their knowledge in molecular diagnostics especially for those people taking the MB(ASCP) exam. Sure it helped me pass the exam." - JR, Amazon Reviewer Meet the challenges of this rapidly expanding field: Molecular diagnostics continues to grow in importance in the clinical laboratory. This respected text will prepare your students with a grounding in the fundamental principles of molecular biology. current methods, and their clinical applications. With a focus on the application of molecular concepts to diagnostic purposes, the text explains and illustrate the use and interpretation of molecular-based assays in patient care. Now with an expanded discussion of nucleic acid sequencing, with added emphasis on next generation sequencing (NGS), and updated coverage of proteomics and mass spectrometry applications, your students will have the most current information available today.

First published in 1990. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

To start with, we feel that we should explain why the book has been entitled Cholera Toxins. In fact, the enterotoxin secreted by Vibrio cholerae, which is p- marily responsible for causation of the disease, is conventionally known as or referred to as cholera toxin, or CT. By using the word "toxins" (in its plural form), we wanted to cover all of the different types of toxins-and not just CT-produced by V. cholerae. We could have used the title Toxins of Vibrio cholerae, but we believe that Cholera Toxins is simpler and equally as expressive. However, due to its relative importance, the story of CT covers most of this book. Also, compared to all other toxins of V. cholerae, CT has been investigated more extensively. This book was jointly written by us. It is not a multiauthor book in which each expert writes one chapter. In that respect our task is harder. On the other hand, it has given us the unique opportunity to present the entire subject in the way that we conceived it. Besides, our objective is to cater to the needs of not only active research scientists but also students from different disciplines-microbiology, molecular physiology and pharmacology, basic medicines, etc. -and as such, we have attempted to present the subject in a way that will be appreciated by general readers. Further, we have provided some information that students and predoctoral researchers may find useful at the end of the book.

This book captures some of the essential developments, both historical and current, relating to the human retroviruses and the diseases they cause. It describes detailed molecular biology and epidemiology of human T-leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1).

This publication is a collection of essays on the biology of intracellular parasitisms where both bacterial and protozoan parasites are discussed. The juxtaposition of authors representing fields of research emphasizes the many common problems facing intracellular parasites and the hosts that harbor them. In addition, numerous illustrations of how different parasites and host attempt to solve these problems in different ways are provided. The book includes one or more chapters on Bdellovibrio, Chlamydia, Rickettsia, Coxiella, Legionella, Shigellae, Mycobacterium, Microsporidium, Plasmodium, and Toxoplasma. The authors frequently speculate and generalize on the subject matter discussed.

The groundbreaking science behind the surprising source of good health Stanford University's Justin and Erica Sonnenburg are pioneers in the most exciting and potentially transformative field of human health and wellness, the study of the relationship between our bodies and the trillions of organisms representing thousands of species to which our bodies play host, the microbes we call the microbiota. The Sonnenburgs argue that the microbiota determines in no small part whether we're sick or healthy, fit or obese, sunny or moody-and that the microbiota has always been with us, coevolving with humans and entwining its functions with ours. They show us that humans are really composite organisms with microbial and human parts. But now, because of changes to diet, antibiotic over-use, and over-sterilization, our gut microbiota is facing a "mass extinction event," which may explain the mysterious spike in some of our most troubling modern afflictions, from food allergies to autism, cancer to depression. It doesn't have to be this way. The Good Gut is a groundbreaking work that offers a new plan for health that focuses on how to nourish your microbiota, including recipes and a menu plan. The Sonnenburgs show how we can keep our microbiota off the endangered species list and strengthen the community that inhabits our gut and thereby improve our own health. In this important and timely investigation, they look at safe alternatives to antibiotics; dietary and lifestyle choices to encourage microbial health; the management of the aging microbiota; and the nourishment of your own individual microbiome. Caring for our gut microbes may be the most important health choice we can make.

This informative text is divided into eight chapters, each of which presents a comprehensive review of natural and acquired host defense mechanisms in a major mycotic disease. The chapters are written by distinguished scientists whose studies have contributed significantly to the understanding of the immunology of the mycoses. This text should provide a valuable reference for researchers, practicing clinicians, and new investigators entering this expanding field.

In this completely revised and updated second edition of DNA Vaccines: Methods and Protocols, W. Mark Saltzman presents a comprehensive collection of DNA vaccine protocols, written by leading experts in the groundbreaking field of DNA vaccination. Divided into five sections, this volume contains state-of-the-art and practical procedures on the latest DNA vaccine technology. Part I contains DNA vaccine design protocols, focusing on methods that achieve optimal expression in host cells. Part II is dedicated to presenting methods for DNA delivery, and covers both the range of administration methods available for vaccine administration and a variety of techniques for improving the efficiency of delivery into cells. Part III discusses current available methods, including adjuvant and prime-boost approaches, for enhancing the potency of DNA vaccines. Part IV describes several key areas of application in the field, including allergy, avoidance of autoimmunity, and neonate and infant vaccine response. DNA Vaccines: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition concludes with a review of protocols for vaccine production and purification, and applicable quality control methods.
This collection of up-to-date protocols demonstrates the tremendous progress that has been made in the field of DNA vaccination since the initial appearance of this new vaccination strategy. Given current enthusiasm for the magnificent potential for this technology among the scientific community, researchers will find tremendous value in this updated and enhanced molecular methods guide.

Ensuring Global Food Safety: Exploring Global Harmonization, Second Edition, examines the policies and practices of food law which remain top contributors to food waste. This fully revised and updated edition offers a rational and multifaceted approach to the science-based issue of "what is safe for consumption?" and how creating a globally acceptable framework of microbiological, toxicological and nutritional standards can contribute to the alleviation of hunger and food insecurity in the world. Currently, many laws and regulations are so stringent that healthy food is destroyed based on scientifically incorrect information upon which laws and regulations are based. This book illuminates these issues, offering guidelines for moving toward a scientifically sound approach to food safety regulation that can also improve food security without putting consumers at risk.

Eleven years ago the circular DNA of a novel single-stranded virus has been cloned and partially characterized by Nishizawa and Okamoto and their colleagues. According to the initials of the patient from whom the isolate originated, the virus was named TT virus. This name has been subsequently changed by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) into Torque teno virus, permitting the further use of the abbreviation TTV. Although initially suspected to play a role in non A E hepatitis, subsequent studies failed to support this notion.

Within a remarkably short period of time it became clear that TT viruses are widely spread globally, infect a large proportion of all human populations studied thus far and represent an extremely heterogeneous group of viruses, now labelled as Anelloviruses. TT virus-like infections have also been noted in various animal species. The classification of this virus group turns out to be difficult, their DNA contains between 2200 and 3800 nucleotides, related so-called TT-mini-viruses and a substantial proportion of intragenomic recombinants further complicate attempts to combine these viruses into a unifying phylogenetic concept. "

The Advances in Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Public Health Series will provide microbiologists, hygienists, epidemiologists and infectious diseases specialists with well-chosen contributed volumes containing updated information in the areas of basic and applied microbiology involving relevant issues for public health, including bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections, zoonoses and anthropozoonoses, environmental and food microbiology. The increasing threat of the multidrug-resistant microorganisms and the related host immune response, the new strategies for the treatment of biofilm-based, acute and chronic microbial infections, as well as the development of new vaccines and more efficacious antimicrobial drugs to prevent and treat human and animal infections will be also reviewed in this series in the light of the most recent achievements in these fields. Special attention will be devoted to the fast diffusion worldwide of the new findings of the most advanced translational researches carried out in the different fields of microbiological sciences, with the aim to promote a prompt validation and transfer at clinical level of the most promising experimental results.

Understanding the diagnostic methods necessary to identify bloodstream infections. In the clinical microbiology laboratory, blood is a critical diagnostic sample that, in the majority of cases is sterile (or is it?). However, when microbes gain access to and multiply in the bloodstream, it can result in life-threatening illness including sepsis. Mortality rates from bloodstream infection and sepsis range from 25% to 80%, killing millions of people annually. Blood cultures are a vital technology used in the microbiology laboratory to isolate and identify microbes and predict their response to antimicrobial therapy. The Dark Art of Blood Cultures, edited by Wm. Michael Dunne, Jr., and Carey-Ann D. Burnham, surveys the entire field of blood culture technology, providing valuable information about every phase of the process, from drawing samples to culture methods to processing positive cultures. The Dark Art of Blood Cultures is organized around several major topics.

Infection by flaviviruses such as dengue virus serotypes (DENV 1-4), Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBE), yellow fever virus (YFV) and West Nile virus (WNV) impact millions of lives and cause tens of thousands of mortalities each year. Dengue is a global public health emergency especially since there is no preventative vaccine or antiviral treatment for dengue disease. Dengue: Methods and Protocols offers the increasing number of dengue researchers a one-stop protocol book with techniques compiled from the leading laboratories working on dengue. Chapters cover topics such as dengue virus isolation from clinical samples, quantification of human antibodies against the virus, assays to quantify the virus particles, the widely used mouse model to study dengue pathogenesis, vaccine and antiviral efficacies. Written in the successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easily accessible, Dengue: Methods and Protocols seeks to serve both professionals and novices with its well-honed methodologies on dengue research.

This book series focuses on current progress in the broad field of medical microbiology, and covers both basic and applied topics related to the study of microbes, their interactions with human and animals, and emerging issues relevant for public health. Original research and review articles present and discuss multidisciplinary findings and developments on various aspects of microbiology, infectious diseases, and their diagnosis, treatment and prevention. The book series publishes review and original research contributions, short reports as well as guest edited thematic book volumes. All contributions will be published online first and collected in book volumes. There are no publication costs. Advances in Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Public Health is a subseries of Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, which has been publishing significant contributions in the field for over 30 years and is indexed in Medline, Scopus, EMBASE, BIOSIS, Biological Abstracts, CSA, Biological Sciences and Living Resources (ASFA-1), and Biological Sciences. 2019 Impact Factor: 2.450. 5 Year Impact Factor: 2.324; Cite Score: 3.0; Eigenfactor Score: 0.03583; Article Influence Score: 0.603

This book ventures into a new and exciting area of discovery that directly ties our current knowledge of cancer to the discovery of microorganisms associated with different types of cancers. Recent studies demonstrate that microorganisms are directly linked to the establishment of cancers and that they can also contribute to the initiation, as well as persistence of, the cancers. Microbiome and Cancer covers the current knowledge of microbiome and its association with human cancers. It provides important reading for novices, senior undergraduates in cancer and microbiology, graduate students, junior investigators, residents, fellows and established investigators in the fields of cancer and microbiology. We cover areas related to known, broad concepts in microbiology and how they can relate to the ongoing discoveries of the micro-environment and the changes in the metabolic and physiologic states in that micro-environment, which are important for the ongoing nurturing and survival of the poly-microbial content that dictates activities in that micro-environment. We cover the interactions of microorganisms associated with gastric carcinomas, which are important for driving this particular cancer. Additional areas include oral cancers, skin cancers, ovarian cancers, breast cancers, nasopharyngeal cancers, lung cancers, mesotheliomas, Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, glioblastoma multiforme, hepatocellular carcinomas, as well as the inflammatory response related to the infectious agents in cancers. This book covers the metabolic changes that occur because of infection and their support for development of cancers, chronic infection and development of therapeutic strategies for detection and control of the infection. The field of microbiome research has exploded over the last five years, and we are now understanding more and more about the context in which microorganisms can contribute to the onset of cancers in humans. The field of microbiome research has demonstrated that the human body has specific biomes for tissues and that changes in these biomes at the specific organ sites can result in disease. These changes can result in dramatic differences in metabolic shifts that, together with genetic mutations, will produce the perfect niche for establishment of the particular infection programmes in that organ site. We are just beginning to understand what those changes are and how they influence the disease state. Overall, we hope to bring together the varying degrees of fluctuations in the microbiome at the major organ sites and how these changes affect the normal cellular processes because of dysregulation, leading to proliferation of the associated tissues.

The author successfully developed novel anti-HIV PD 404182 derivatives that exhibited submicromolar inhibitory activity against both HIV-1 and HIV-2. His thesis is in three parts. The first part expounds efficient methods for the synthesis of tricyclic heterocycles related to PD 404182 based on the sp2-carbon heteroatom bond formations. Starting from arene or haloarene, C O, C N, or C S bonds were formed by simply changing the reactants. These synthetic methods provide powerful approaches for the divergent preparation of pyrimido-benzoxazine, -quinazoline, or -benzothiazine derivatives. The second part explains SAR studies of PD 404182 for the development of anti-HIV agents. Through optimization studies of the central 1,3-thiazin-2-imine core, the benzene and cyclic amidine ring parts, 3-fold more potent inhibitors were obtained compared with the lead compound. The author also reveals by a time-of-drug-addition experiment that PD 404182 derivatives impaired HIV replication at the binding or fusion stage. The third part of the thesis elucidates the development of photoaffinity probes for the target identification of PD 404182. By the photolabeling experiment of HIV-1-infected H9 cells using these probes, the author detected proteins specifically bound to PD 404182. These new anti-HIV agents may be promising agents for anti-HIV therapy because their mechanisms of action differ from those of the currently approved anti-HIV agents.

In recent years, plants have been increasingly explored for production of biomedicines and vaccine components. The two main advantages of plant systems are low cost and a greater potential for scalability as compared to microbial or animal systems. An additional advantage from the public health point of view is high safety compared to animal systems, which is important for vaccine production: there are no known plant pathogens capable of replicating in animals, and in humans in particular. A particular antigen or a protein has to be expressed in a plant using one of many available platforms; this antigen/protein subsequently needs to be purified or processed, and later formulated into a vaccine or a therapeutic; these need to be delivered to a human or animal body via an appropriate route. Naturally, all these vaccines and therapeutics must be subjected to regulatory approvals prior to their use. Thus, the challenge is to adapt plant-based platforms for production of cost-efficient biomedicals that can be approved by FDA for use as vaccine components or therapeutics which will be competitive against existing vaccines and drugs.

This volume attempts to address the entire spectrum of challenges facing the nascent field of plant-based biomedicals, from the selection of an appropriate production platform to specific methods of downstream processing and regulatory approval issues.

Neurovirology is an interdisciplinary field representing a melding of virology, clinical neuroscience, molecular pathogenesis, diagnostic virology, molecular biology, and immunology. Neuroviral Infections: RNA Viruses and Retroviruses presents an up-to-date overview of the general principles of infections and major neuroviral infections caused by RNA viruses and retroviruses. It is designed for virologists, specialists in infectious diseases, teachers of virology, and postgraduate students of medicine, virology, neurosciences, and immunology.

This accessibly written, comprehensive summary of research findings on the gut microbiome and its implications for health and disease-a topic of growing interest and concern-serves as an essential resource for teachers and students. Most people know that the digestive tract contains billions of helpful gut bacteria, but how does the gut microbiome affect our health? What exactly do these bacteria do, and what are the negative effects when these microorganisms are harmed by what we eat and do? What impacts might they have on conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), obesity, and autism? This book provides an accessible, holistic introduction to the study of the human gut microbiome and its effects on digestion and disease-one of the newest and most rapidly expanding fields in medicine today. The gut microbiome is known as "the forgotten organ" because it is not identified as part of the human body per se, yet it has an immense influence on many systems in the body. The Gut Microbiome: Exploring the Connection between Microbes, Diet, and Health explains what the microbiome is, the many functions it serves, how it can be either harmed or supported by our actions, and the role it may play in various diseases and in determining our overall health. The book examines the various potential causes of imbalance in the microbiome, such as diet and other lifestyle factors, and then identifies strategies for improving human health by protecting the gut microbiota. The science-based information is detailed but accessible to general readers or students without extensive background knowledge. Presents the most recent gut microbiome research in a way that is accessible to students interested in biological sciences and nutrition studies Includes engaging sidebars and case studies that serve to better illustrate the connections between gut microbiota, human physiology, and chronic disease Provides insight into the role of nutrition in shaping the gut microbiota and suggestions for improving human health