Books in the Contemporary Immunology series

A critical review of the classic, as wells as most recent-and quite seminal-findings concerning the phenotypic and molecular characteristics of both fetal and neonatal B and T cells, the cells that mediate antibody and cellular immune responses in newborns and infants.

The authoritative experts writing here explore the mechanistic aspects of such autoimmune diseases as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and autoimmune thyroid disease, and where possible delineate how malfunctioning immunological mechanisms can lead to clinical symptoms.

Carrying on the high standards of the much praised first edition (Durum and Muegge, Cytokine Knockouts, 1998), Giamila Fantuzzi and a panel of experts have generated completely new chapters to reflect the use of many novel mouse strains and the hundreds of recent studies on cytokine physiology.

Discovery of the BLyS (also known as BAFF) family of ligands and receptors has yielded a paradigm shift in our view of B-lymphocyte selection, survival, activation, and homeostasis.

Despite the tremendous diversity of the cells of the hematopoietic system, they are all derived from common precursor cells that are generated in the fetus and persist into adult life. However, new technologies allow increasingly elegant and informative studies in mammalian systems, particularly for cells of the hematopoietic system.

The authoritative experts writing here explore the mechanistic aspects of such autoimmune diseases as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and autoimmune thyroid disease, and where possible delineate how malfunctioning immunological mechanisms can lead to clinical symptoms.