Bücher der Reihe Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology

This volume has gathered some of the experts in the field to review aspects of our understanding of CMV and to offer perspectives of the current problems associated with CMV.

Mass immunization is the blitzkrieg of vaccination practice. However, as in war, mass immunization campaigns must be conducted intelligently, with careful strategy and strong attention to logistics of supply and deployment.

Nanotechnology is a collective term describing a broad range of relatively novel topics. Nanotechnology seeks to mimic what nature has achieved, with precision at the nanometer level down to the atomic level. Bacterial viruses (bacte- ophages), plant and animal eukaryotic viruses, and viruses of archaea have all been characterized in this manner.

There is increasing evidence that the CD1 system has been conserved throughout mammalian evolution and is capable of presenting structurally diverse diacyglycerol, sphingolipid, polyisoprenol and lipopeptide antigens.

The importance of specific antibodies for the clearance of and long-term resistance to many infectious pathogens has long been appreciated. In the last five years, data from these areas of research has coalesced, resulting in the emergence of a new and more complete understanding of how antibody-mediated resistance to pathogens is elaborated.

This monograph deals with the impact of classical genetics in immunology, prov- ing examples of how large immunological questions were solved, and new fields opened to analysis through the study of phenotypes, either spontaneous or induced.

It opens with chapters that provide the reader with current perspectives on biofilm development, physiology, environmental, and regulatory effects, the role of quorum sensing, and resistance/phenotypic persistence to antimicrobial agents during biofilm growth.

One of the most promising new approaches for the prevention of HIV transmission, particularly for developing countries, involves topical, self-administered products known as microbicides.

This book offers a comprehensive review of basic and clinical research on Varicella-zoster Virus, the only human herpesvirus for which vaccines to prevent both primary and recurrent infection are approved.

Scientific research on dengue has a long and rich history. Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever, which assumed pandemic proportions during the latter half of the last century, have shown no indication of slowing their growth during this first decade of the twenty-first century.

Clearly, an in-depth study of bacterial infectious strategies, as well as the host cellular and immune responses, presented in each chapter of this book will provide further insight into the critical roles of the host innate and adaptive immune systems and their importance in determining the severity or completely preventing infectious diseases.

The study of viruses necessarily involves dissecting the intimate details of cellular pathways. Viruses have often been employed as tools in studying cellular pathways, as was done by early retrovirologists such as Peyton Rous in attempting to understand the mechanism of cellular transformation and oncogenesis.

Cells of the immune system develop in bone marrow and lymphoid organs, but as the cells mature they leave these organs and circulate as single cells. Studies of normal and transformed T cell lines and of T cells from transgenic mice led to comprehensive understanding of the mole- lar basis of antigen-receptor recognition and signaling.

The chemokine system is also important both for the crosstalk between malignant cells and their neighbouring nonmalignant stromal cells (including endothelial cells) as well as for immunoregulation in patients treated with allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

From humble beginnings over 25 years ago as a lipid kinase activity associated with certain oncoproteins, PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) has been catapulted to the forefront of drug development in cancer, immunity and thrombosis, with the first clinical trials of PI3K pathway inhibitors now in progress.

PI3K has become a very intense area of research, with over 2000 publications on PI3K in PubMed for 2009 alone. The expectations for a therapeutic impact of intervention with PI3K activity are high, and progress in the clinical arena is being monitored by many.

Adaptive immune responses serve as a key defense mechanism for the control of infections in vertebrates. Immune responses must be of sufficient strength to contain invading pathogens, antigen specific responses require regulatory mechanisms to ensure termination or downmodulation to avoid excessive damage to the host tissue.

However, clinical efficacy of current vaccines is limited, possibly because tumors skew the immune system by means of myeloid-derived suppressor cells, inflammatory type 2 T cells and regulatory T cells (Tregs), all of which prevent the generation of effector cells.

Nearly 25 years of intensive research have uncovered many diverse functions for the dimeric transcription factor known as NF-kappaB (nuclear factor-kappaB). NF-kappaB affects most aspects of cellular physiology-from immunity and inflammation to apoptosis, cell survival, growth, and proliferation

This volume should be informative for both experts as well as newcomers to the field of TLRs in the nervous system based on its coverage of basic TLR biology as well as specialization to discuss specific diseases of the nervous system where TLR function has been implicated.

Cells of the immune system are activated by a variety of stimuli that are derived from other cells, ingested material or from invading microorganisms. This issue of CTMI focuses on the mechanisms of phosphoinositide-mediated protein recruitment to intracellular membranes.

TOR, the Target of Rapamycin was discovered a little over ten years ago in a genetic screen in S. The editors have gathered the leading figures in the field of TOR and its role in cellular homeostasis and human diseases.

It has been clear for a long time that after transplantation of a lymphoid organ, hematopoietic stem cells can regenerate the compartments of the organ, provided that the rest of its architecture - the strome, the epithelia and the vessels - is intact.

Part IV, FcRs and Disease, discusses FcR polymorphism, FcRs in rheumatoid arthritis and whether their FcRs make macaques good models for studying HIV infection.

In addition, it presents reviews on the mechanisms linking innate microbial recognition to the production of IL-10 and on how IL-10 recognition by its receptor functions.

This volume is focused on the development of vaccines which generate immune effectors capable of blocking mucosal entry or peripheral pathogen spread.

The studies described in this volume serve as a starting point to familiarize one self with the multifarious differences in epigenetic designs that orchestrate the progression of developing blood cells. They also may serve as a general paradigm for the mechanisms that underpin the control of eukaryotic gene expression.

This volume gathers the latest exciting findings on ADP-ribosylation from renowned experts in the field. It includes ten chapters, organized into the following three thematic sections:·   Evolution and detection of endogenous ADP-ribosylation·   ADP-ribosylation by the ARTC family of ADP-ribosyltransferases (R-S-E ARTs)·   ADP-ribosylation by the ARTD family of ADP-ribosyltransferases (H-Y-E ARTs)The book will provide readers a better understanding of ADP-ribosylating toxins and their endogenous relatives. This provides a basis for developing novel toxin-neutralizing drugs and drugs targeting endogenous ADP-ribosyltransferase relatives.

These molecules have been named "superantigens" because they use a mechanism of T cell stimulation closely mimicking MHC-restricted recognition of specific antigen: they act on variable parts of T cell antigen receptors and are presented by MHC class II molecules.

For years, toxoplasmosis has been known as disease mostly affecting newborns. Since in vivo and in vitro models of toxoplasmosis exist, and genetic manipulation has become possible, this protozoan parasite has recently been accepted as a model for understanding the pathogenesis and persistance of other intracellular parasites.