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Bacteria and the immune system
116
T I B S - March 1983
comprehensive coverage of the subject, the authors have also managed to include more up-to-date aspects such as recombinant DNA techniques, nucleosomes, the signal hypothesis, endorphins and leukotrienes no mean feat for a book of only 200 pages. Thus, the authors have admirably fulfilled their purpose of providing 'a survey of biochemistry in an easily assimilable form'. However, they also clearly state that this text was not intended to be used as a teaching program, but rather in conjunction with more complete textbooks and a course of lectures. One might wonder whether this book would appeal to the three target groups envisaged by the authors: firstly the student, who might be encouraged by this succinct summary to delve into more extensive texts; secondly the students of develop-
ing countries with their limited knowledge of English; and thirdly professionals in allied fields, who may wish to be aware of the major trends in the subject. Certainly, professionals in allied fields should appreciate this book, since other concise summaries of the subject do not usually include the modem trends in the field. New students of the subject may also find this pictorial approach stimulating, even though some improvements could be made in the visual attractiveness of the book. Unfortunately, such improvements would undoubtedly increase the cost of production, with its dampening effect on purchase. Finally, although the use of illustrations rather than words is helpful in countries where English is not the fn'st language, price must also be considered in developing countries. As an
Bacteria and the immune system I m m u n o m o d u l a t i o n by Bacteria and their Products edited by H e r m a n Friedman, Thomas W. Klein and A n d o r Szentivanyi, Plenum Press, 1981. $ 4 2 . 5 0 (xii + 3 0 8 pages) I S B N 0 3 0 6 40885 6
This book is based on the proceedings of a conference held in November 1979, in Tampa, Florida. Once more, the gap between the date of a symposium devoted to an immunological topic and the time of publication of the resulting volume tends to vindicate Oscar Wilde's epigram: 'Nothing is so dangerous as being too modem; one is apt to grow old-fashioned quite suddenly'. Nevertheless, there certainly was a need for a review of the rich field of interactions between bacteria (and their products) and the immune system, both with respect to their physiopathological consequences and their potential therapeutic applications. No author would have been so brave as to tackle single-handed such an enterprise, and one must content oneself with the heterogeneity and inequalities of this kind of book. The present volume contains 17 contributions, each one written by experts in the topic which they treat (as one usually puts it, and it is indeed justified here). Some of these contributions aim at being exhaustive reviews (like Dziarski's chapter on the effects of staphylococcal cell wall products on immunity), while others confine themselves to the authors' personal data, sometimes with a blissful ignorance of work done elsewhere. As there is a mixture of chapters dealing with rather fundamental issues (bi-directional macrophage-lymphocyte interactions modulating immune responses, by Oppenheim et al. ; the i n f l u -
ence of bacterial products on cyclic nucleotide metabolism of lymphocytes, by Winchurch; the role of activated macrophage superoxide anions and hydrogen peroxide in immune suppression, by Hoffeld et al. ) and chapters devoted to the effects - and, in some cases, the possible therapeutic applications - of specific bacterial products (streptococcal components, by Schwab et al. ; streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin, by Hanna et al. ; pneumococcal polysaccharide, by Baker et al.; C. parr u m , by Ghaffar et al. ; BCG and synthetic adjuvants, by Chedid; lipopolysaccharides and non-toxic derivatives, by Nowotny et al.; Bordetella pertussis , by Klein et al. ), the reader will have to make a choice according to his own inclinations. No attempt - admittedly quite difficult - was made by the editors to integrate all this scattered knowledge but, in an introductory chapter, Johnson admits that 'the time may be ripe for greater effort to be expended in identification and isolation of the endogenous mediators rather than continued characterization of microbial products. As could be expected from the remark made at the beginning, very few bibliographic references go beyond 1978-1979 and, in many cases, the chapters read more like a historical account than a description of the present state of affairs. Louis Chedid's treatment of immunomodulation by BCG and synthetic bacterial-like adjuvants is very readable, but obviously does not allude to most exciting recent developments made in this field by his own team (and by some others). The longest chapter (42 pages) is by S. Kotani and a number of co-workers, under the title: 'Immunomodulating and related biological activities of bacterial cell walls and their
example, a fairly comprehensive 600-page Thai textbook retails for only about onehalf of the U.K. list price for Biochemistry Illustrated, and even then some students complain that it is expensive. However, the publishers have indicated that a special low-priced International Student Edition will be available in early 1983 which, one hopes, will make it more affordable for students in developing countries. In the meantime, it will be an important addition to the shelves of libraries and staff, and selected illustrations will no doubt be used in the form of slides or hand-out sheets by lecturers. JISNUSONSVASTI Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University. Bangkok, Thailand.
components enzymatically prepared or synthesized'. It is a very thorough review of the subject giving the reader a handy summary of the many studies performed by this group and other Japanese investigators. The chapters on ribosomal vaccines as immunomodulators (by Eisenstein et al.) and on pertussis-induced immunomodulation (by Klein et al. ) provide adequate reviews of subjects which may deserve to be better known by immunopharmacologists. It is doubtful that anyone will read this volume from the first to the last page, but many immunologists and microbiologists will find a valuable source of information in at least some of the chapters. GEORGES H. WERNER Georges H. Werner is at the Department of Immunology, Oncology and Virology, RhOnePoulenc Recherches, 94 407 Vitry-sur-Seine, France.
BooksReceived Review copies of the following books have been received. Books which have been reviewed in full in TIBS are not included. Books Received - List 4 continued
R. D. H. Murray, J. Mendezand S. A. BrownThe Natural Coumarins - Occurrence, Chemistry and Biochemistry John Wiley and Sons, Ltd, 1982. £70.00 (xi + 702 pages)ISBN0 471 280577 A. T. Natarajan,G. Obe and H. Altmann(eds) Prowess in Mutation Research Vol. 4 - DNA Repair, Alterations and Chromatin Structure Elsevier
Biomedical Press, 1982. $97.75/Dfl. 210 (xv + 390 pages) ISBN0 4.4480367 X A. Neuberger (ed.) Comprehensive Biochemistry VoL 19B part H - Protein Metabolism Elsevier Biomedical Press, 1982. $81.50[Dfl. 175.00 (ix + 593 pages)ISBN0 444 803467 Garfield P. RoyerFundamentals of Enzymology Rate Enhancement, Specificity', Control and Applications JohnWileyand SonsLtd, 1982.£20.25 (xii +
232 pages)ISBN0 471 04675 2
T I B S - March 1983
comprehensive coverage of the subject, the authors have also managed to include more up-to-date aspects such as recombinant DNA techniques, nucleosomes, the signal hypothesis, endorphins and leukotrienes no mean feat for a book of only 200 pages. Thus, the authors have admirably fulfilled their purpose of providing 'a survey of biochemistry in an easily assimilable form'. However, they also clearly state that this text was not intended to be used as a teaching program, but rather in conjunction with more complete textbooks and a course of lectures. One might wonder whether this book would appeal to the three target groups envisaged by the authors: firstly the student, who might be encouraged by this succinct summary to delve into more extensive texts; secondly the students of develop-
ing countries with their limited knowledge of English; and thirdly professionals in allied fields, who may wish to be aware of the major trends in the subject. Certainly, professionals in allied fields should appreciate this book, since other concise summaries of the subject do not usually include the modem trends in the field. New students of the subject may also find this pictorial approach stimulating, even though some improvements could be made in the visual attractiveness of the book. Unfortunately, such improvements would undoubtedly increase the cost of production, with its dampening effect on purchase. Finally, although the use of illustrations rather than words is helpful in countries where English is not the fn'st language, price must also be considered in developing countries. As an
Bacteria and the immune system I m m u n o m o d u l a t i o n by Bacteria and their Products edited by H e r m a n Friedman, Thomas W. Klein and A n d o r Szentivanyi, Plenum Press, 1981. $ 4 2 . 5 0 (xii + 3 0 8 pages) I S B N 0 3 0 6 40885 6
This book is based on the proceedings of a conference held in November 1979, in Tampa, Florida. Once more, the gap between the date of a symposium devoted to an immunological topic and the time of publication of the resulting volume tends to vindicate Oscar Wilde's epigram: 'Nothing is so dangerous as being too modem; one is apt to grow old-fashioned quite suddenly'. Nevertheless, there certainly was a need for a review of the rich field of interactions between bacteria (and their products) and the immune system, both with respect to their physiopathological consequences and their potential therapeutic applications. No author would have been so brave as to tackle single-handed such an enterprise, and one must content oneself with the heterogeneity and inequalities of this kind of book. The present volume contains 17 contributions, each one written by experts in the topic which they treat (as one usually puts it, and it is indeed justified here). Some of these contributions aim at being exhaustive reviews (like Dziarski's chapter on the effects of staphylococcal cell wall products on immunity), while others confine themselves to the authors' personal data, sometimes with a blissful ignorance of work done elsewhere. As there is a mixture of chapters dealing with rather fundamental issues (bi-directional macrophage-lymphocyte interactions modulating immune responses, by Oppenheim et al. ; the i n f l u -
ence of bacterial products on cyclic nucleotide metabolism of lymphocytes, by Winchurch; the role of activated macrophage superoxide anions and hydrogen peroxide in immune suppression, by Hoffeld et al. ) and chapters devoted to the effects - and, in some cases, the possible therapeutic applications - of specific bacterial products (streptococcal components, by Schwab et al. ; streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin, by Hanna et al. ; pneumococcal polysaccharide, by Baker et al.; C. parr u m , by Ghaffar et al. ; BCG and synthetic adjuvants, by Chedid; lipopolysaccharides and non-toxic derivatives, by Nowotny et al.; Bordetella pertussis , by Klein et al. ), the reader will have to make a choice according to his own inclinations. No attempt - admittedly quite difficult - was made by the editors to integrate all this scattered knowledge but, in an introductory chapter, Johnson admits that 'the time may be ripe for greater effort to be expended in identification and isolation of the endogenous mediators rather than continued characterization of microbial products. As could be expected from the remark made at the beginning, very few bibliographic references go beyond 1978-1979 and, in many cases, the chapters read more like a historical account than a description of the present state of affairs. Louis Chedid's treatment of immunomodulation by BCG and synthetic bacterial-like adjuvants is very readable, but obviously does not allude to most exciting recent developments made in this field by his own team (and by some others). The longest chapter (42 pages) is by S. Kotani and a number of co-workers, under the title: 'Immunomodulating and related biological activities of bacterial cell walls and their
example, a fairly comprehensive 600-page Thai textbook retails for only about onehalf of the U.K. list price for Biochemistry Illustrated, and even then some students complain that it is expensive. However, the publishers have indicated that a special low-priced International Student Edition will be available in early 1983 which, one hopes, will make it more affordable for students in developing countries. In the meantime, it will be an important addition to the shelves of libraries and staff, and selected illustrations will no doubt be used in the form of slides or hand-out sheets by lecturers. JISNUSONSVASTI Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University. Bangkok, Thailand.
components enzymatically prepared or synthesized'. It is a very thorough review of the subject giving the reader a handy summary of the many studies performed by this group and other Japanese investigators. The chapters on ribosomal vaccines as immunomodulators (by Eisenstein et al.) and on pertussis-induced immunomodulation (by Klein et al. ) provide adequate reviews of subjects which may deserve to be better known by immunopharmacologists. It is doubtful that anyone will read this volume from the first to the last page, but many immunologists and microbiologists will find a valuable source of information in at least some of the chapters. GEORGES H. WERNER Georges H. Werner is at the Department of Immunology, Oncology and Virology, RhOnePoulenc Recherches, 94 407 Vitry-sur-Seine, France.
BooksReceived Review copies of the following books have been received. Books which have been reviewed in full in TIBS are not included. Books Received - List 4 continued
R. D. H. Murray, J. Mendezand S. A. BrownThe Natural Coumarins - Occurrence, Chemistry and Biochemistry John Wiley and Sons, Ltd, 1982. £70.00 (xi + 702 pages)ISBN0 471 280577 A. T. Natarajan,G. Obe and H. Altmann(eds) Prowess in Mutation Research Vol. 4 - DNA Repair, Alterations and Chromatin Structure Elsevier
Biomedical Press, 1982. $97.75/Dfl. 210 (xv + 390 pages) ISBN0 4.4480367 X A. Neuberger (ed.) Comprehensive Biochemistry VoL 19B part H - Protein Metabolism Elsevier Biomedical Press, 1982. $81.50[Dfl. 175.00 (ix + 593 pages)ISBN0 444 803467 Garfield P. RoyerFundamentals of Enzymology Rate Enhancement, Specificity', Control and Applications JohnWileyand SonsLtd, 1982.£20.25 (xii +
232 pages)ISBN0 471 04675 2