Innate immunity is one the most evolutionally conserved systems, designed to protect the organism from viruses and bacterial infections, stress and many other types of attacks from the outside world. During the past decade, the capacity of molecular biology and information technology to produce and analyse data have grown exponentially, rapidly reforming many aspects of immunology research in the post-genomics era. As a result, scientific understanding of signalling networks governing the innate immunity response in human tissues and other organisms has evolved beyond recognition, compared to even just a decade ago. Many strategies have been designed over the years to identify novel proteins, which have a crucial role in innate immunity responses by regulating particular signalling pathways. These projects had many advantages, including the definition of novel drug targets, as exemplified by the recent success of anti-TNF therapy, as well as leading to a better, system-wide understanding of the molecular control of innate immunity. In the past few years, a new concept, Immunomics, has been adopted to define an emerging, multidisciplinary field of research (Schonbach, 2003). Although rapid progress has been made to identify the proteins playing pivotal roles in the innate immunity-related signalling pathways (for example, TIR signalling pathways), the catalogue of proteins with a key regulatory function identified and studied is far from completed. Novel proteins need to be char- terised to gain a more comprehensive picture of how signalling networks are regulated.

One of the major features that distinguishes vertebrates from invertebrates is the presence of a complex immune system. Over millions of years, many novel immune genes and gene families have emerged and their products form sophisticated pathways conferring protection against most pathogens. The Human Genome Project revealed that the immunoglobulin gene superfamily was one of the largest in the genome, containing more than 20f all known human genes. High-throughput technologies for the study of DNA, mRNA and proteins, such as microarrays and real-time gene amplification technologies, as well as biobank facilities, are enabling the investigation of these genes and pathways in ever more detail. The parallel development of databases and bioinformatics tools to store and interpret this information will also contribute to greater understanding of the function of the immune system.

Genomics is finally changing from an academic discipline to one with real clinical relevance. The study of immune regulation in response to pathogen invasion, to the presence of malignant or allogeneic tissue and, in some cases, to normal autologous tissue requires techniques that study the behaviour of whole systems in parallel. A genome-wide, systems biology approach is needed to understand the genetic and environmental factors that regulate the healthy immune system and its response to pathogens as well as to malignant cells arising within the body. It will also facilitate determining what goes wrong when the immune system attacks normal host cells, as in autoimmune diseases such as Type 1 diabetes.

Finally, greater knowledge of the immune system will enable us to use it to promote health and curedisease, through vaccine development - targeting both pathogens and tumour cells - and by manipulation of cellular and humoral defences.

This book provides an overview of key conceptual and molecular technologies being deployed in immunogenomics, followed by detailed evaluations of the impact of genomics and systems biology on important areas such as cancer immunology, autoimmunity, allergy and the response to infection. It will be of interest to all those working in immunology, as well as to bioinformaticians and specialists such as oncologists and microbiologists.