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Choking the breath out of respiratory diseases!
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TRENDS in Pharmacological Sciences Vol.22 No.5 May 2001
261
Book Review
Choking the breath out of respiratory diseases! Cellular Mechanisms in Airways Inflammation edited by C.P. Page et al., Birkhäuser Verlag, 2000. £90, sFr. 228, DM 268 (hardback) (ix + 362 pages) ISBN 3 7643 5852 1
Seldom does six months pass without the publication of a book dedicated to airways inflammatory diseases and treatment. Perhaps this is testament to the interest in, and incidence of, disorders such as asthma, which, if current trends continue, will become the most chronic disease of industrial nations within 30 years, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a previously neglected illness that is now attracting remarkable interest from scientists in academia and the pharmaceutical industry alike. In Cellular Mechanisms in Airways Inflammation, a volume in Mike Parnham’s well respected Progress in Inflammation Research series, Page, Banner and Spina have recruited an international panel of 33 experts to contribute to the writing of 12 chapters that describe inflammatory processes in the airways. The book begins with an excellent, elegantly written and erudite account of the microstructure of normal and inflamed airways. The text is complemented by a selection of beautiful electron micrographs, line drawings and histological sections where immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization have been used to identify proinflammatory cells, mediators and structural abnormalities in various pathological settings. Regrettably, this is the only chapter that deals with asthma, COPD and less common or less popular airway/lung diseases such as rhinitis, bronchiolitis and fibrosing alveolitis. The remainder of the book focuses on various infiltrating cells (e.g. platelets, basophils, T cells, neutrophils and eosinophils) and structural components of the lung and respiratory tract (e.g. airways smooth muscle, endothelium and http://tips.trends.com
epithelium) that have been implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma and/or COPD, including a refreshingly instructive chapter on the role of fibroblasts and myofibroblasts in airway wall remodelling. At first glance there seems to be an extraordinary omission in that there is no reference to the mast cell, which has a well-characterized role in allergic inflammatory diseases of the airways, although on closer inspection some information is provided in a chapter dedicated to the basophil. For the most part, the volume is organized logically and is well illustrated and referenced throughout, although it is difficult to understand why the penultimate chapter, which reviews new and existing anti-inflammatory therapies, is followed by a thorough review of T cells. As is always the case with reference books much of the information is out of date at the time of publication. However, this inevitable criticism aside, Cellular Mechanisms in Airways Inflammation is an instructive text that should appeal to pre- and postgraduate students, clinicians and researchers seeking an overview of this rapidly evolving field of medical research. However, at £90 it will probably contribute to a library’s reference resource rather than form part of a personal collection. Mark A. Giembycz Thoracic Medicine, National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College School of Medicine, Dovehouse Street, London, UK SW3 6LY. e-mail: [email protected]
Fishing for new drug leads Drugs from the Sea edited by Nobuhiro Fusetani, Karger, Basel, 2000. US$ 121.00 (hardback) (vi + 158 pages) ISBN 3 8055 7098 8
The hope that the sea would provide a rich new source of drugs or drug leads has been held for more than 30 years, since various symposia began to address this possibility in the
1960s. However, few such agents have progressed to the clinic. This book presents several chapters on the discovery, development and production of drugs from the sea. In the main, the contributing authors were participants at the Naito Conference on Chemical and Biological Basis for the Diversity of Marine Life, held in October 1997. A recurring theme of several chapters, and one that explains the so far relatively low success rate for marine drug candidates, is the ‘supply’ issue. Marine bioactive molecules are often only present in tiny amounts. The difficulty of obtaining sufficient materials for study, combined with their often complex structures, has undoubtedly contributed to marine natural products being under-represented in the world’s pharmacopoeia, relative to molecules from terrestrial sources. However, this book points to some promising signs for the future. The opening chapter identifies ten marine-derived molecules in clinical trial, including one, conotoxin MVIIA, that is soon expected to reach the market in the USA as a treatment for pain. Indeed, the chapter by Baldomera Olivera describing the discovery and development of this molecule, to be marketed as Ziconotide, was a pleasure to read. The story of how Michael McIntosh, who started as a research student with Olivera at the University of Utah before he even graduated from high school, became involved in the discovery of conotoxin MVIIA should provide inspiration to many young scientists. This molecule is, in fact, just one of dozens of peptide components typically found in the venoms of cone snails. Multiply this by the hundreds of known snail species and it becomes clear that there are potentially many more therapeutically useful molecules awaiting discovery. Snails use their venoms for the capture of prey but the potent ionchannel blocking ability of the conotoxins can also be harnessed for blocking the neurotransmission of pain responses. The adage that one man’s poison is another’s medicine certainly holds true in this case. Overall, this book provides a timely summary of current progress in the field of drugs from the sea. David Craik Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia. e-mail: [email protected]
TRENDS in Pharmacological Sciences Vol.22 No.5 May 2001
261
Book Review
Choking the breath out of respiratory diseases! Cellular Mechanisms in Airways Inflammation edited by C.P. Page et al., Birkhäuser Verlag, 2000. £90, sFr. 228, DM 268 (hardback) (ix + 362 pages) ISBN 3 7643 5852 1
Seldom does six months pass without the publication of a book dedicated to airways inflammatory diseases and treatment. Perhaps this is testament to the interest in, and incidence of, disorders such as asthma, which, if current trends continue, will become the most chronic disease of industrial nations within 30 years, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a previously neglected illness that is now attracting remarkable interest from scientists in academia and the pharmaceutical industry alike. In Cellular Mechanisms in Airways Inflammation, a volume in Mike Parnham’s well respected Progress in Inflammation Research series, Page, Banner and Spina have recruited an international panel of 33 experts to contribute to the writing of 12 chapters that describe inflammatory processes in the airways. The book begins with an excellent, elegantly written and erudite account of the microstructure of normal and inflamed airways. The text is complemented by a selection of beautiful electron micrographs, line drawings and histological sections where immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization have been used to identify proinflammatory cells, mediators and structural abnormalities in various pathological settings. Regrettably, this is the only chapter that deals with asthma, COPD and less common or less popular airway/lung diseases such as rhinitis, bronchiolitis and fibrosing alveolitis. The remainder of the book focuses on various infiltrating cells (e.g. platelets, basophils, T cells, neutrophils and eosinophils) and structural components of the lung and respiratory tract (e.g. airways smooth muscle, endothelium and http://tips.trends.com
epithelium) that have been implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma and/or COPD, including a refreshingly instructive chapter on the role of fibroblasts and myofibroblasts in airway wall remodelling. At first glance there seems to be an extraordinary omission in that there is no reference to the mast cell, which has a well-characterized role in allergic inflammatory diseases of the airways, although on closer inspection some information is provided in a chapter dedicated to the basophil. For the most part, the volume is organized logically and is well illustrated and referenced throughout, although it is difficult to understand why the penultimate chapter, which reviews new and existing anti-inflammatory therapies, is followed by a thorough review of T cells. As is always the case with reference books much of the information is out of date at the time of publication. However, this inevitable criticism aside, Cellular Mechanisms in Airways Inflammation is an instructive text that should appeal to pre- and postgraduate students, clinicians and researchers seeking an overview of this rapidly evolving field of medical research. However, at £90 it will probably contribute to a library’s reference resource rather than form part of a personal collection. Mark A. Giembycz Thoracic Medicine, National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College School of Medicine, Dovehouse Street, London, UK SW3 6LY. e-mail: [email protected]
Fishing for new drug leads Drugs from the Sea edited by Nobuhiro Fusetani, Karger, Basel, 2000. US$ 121.00 (hardback) (vi + 158 pages) ISBN 3 8055 7098 8
The hope that the sea would provide a rich new source of drugs or drug leads has been held for more than 30 years, since various symposia began to address this possibility in the
1960s. However, few such agents have progressed to the clinic. This book presents several chapters on the discovery, development and production of drugs from the sea. In the main, the contributing authors were participants at the Naito Conference on Chemical and Biological Basis for the Diversity of Marine Life, held in October 1997. A recurring theme of several chapters, and one that explains the so far relatively low success rate for marine drug candidates, is the ‘supply’ issue. Marine bioactive molecules are often only present in tiny amounts. The difficulty of obtaining sufficient materials for study, combined with their often complex structures, has undoubtedly contributed to marine natural products being under-represented in the world’s pharmacopoeia, relative to molecules from terrestrial sources. However, this book points to some promising signs for the future. The opening chapter identifies ten marine-derived molecules in clinical trial, including one, conotoxin MVIIA, that is soon expected to reach the market in the USA as a treatment for pain. Indeed, the chapter by Baldomera Olivera describing the discovery and development of this molecule, to be marketed as Ziconotide, was a pleasure to read. The story of how Michael McIntosh, who started as a research student with Olivera at the University of Utah before he even graduated from high school, became involved in the discovery of conotoxin MVIIA should provide inspiration to many young scientists. This molecule is, in fact, just one of dozens of peptide components typically found in the venoms of cone snails. Multiply this by the hundreds of known snail species and it becomes clear that there are potentially many more therapeutically useful molecules awaiting discovery. Snails use their venoms for the capture of prey but the potent ionchannel blocking ability of the conotoxins can also be harnessed for blocking the neurotransmission of pain responses. The adage that one man’s poison is another’s medicine certainly holds true in this case. Overall, this book provides a timely summary of current progress in the field of drugs from the sea. David Craik Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia. e-mail: [email protected]