- Email: [email protected]
Hematopoiesis
Leukemia Re.~earc/1Vol t~ No. 12. p. 1573. 19~5. Prinled in Great BNlain
0145-2126/8553.~ * .11() ~' 1985PergamonPressLtd.
BOOK
REVIEW
Hernatopoiesis, edited by David W. Golde, Churchill Livingstone, 1984.
After a long adolescence, experimental haematology has come of age. There have been many growing pains and many disappointments, but the result is a healthy and expanding area of research. The responsibility for this present state of affairs is largely based upon the development of suitable in vivo and in vitro techniques where the various mechanisms underlying growth and developmental work still needs to be done, but much of the groundwork has now been laid and tissue and cell culture systems, in particular, are not the black-box which they once were. This book, then, sets out to clarify, explain and point out the advantages and the pitfalls of many systems in common use. As the editor explains in the preface, 'this is a how-to-do-it book'. There are 13 chapters dealing with various systems, each one dealt ~ith by different authors. In common with other 'multi-author' texts, there is a wide variation in style, readability and usefulness. Some of the contributions are too short and do not fulfill the mandate. As a result, they will be of little use for newcomers to the field. Others are too long and egocentric and give an unbalanced view of research development and present methodologies - - relying instead on the authors own contributions to the field. Some of the chapters are adequately referenced - - and the experienced student or research worker should find them a useful source of references. Of the chapters which are useful, 1 would pick out the contributions of Kurland (granulocyte - - monocyte progenitor cells) - latthough there is some confusion over the term 'GM-CSA' being constitutively produced by WEHI-3 cells to my knowledge the \ \ ~ H I - 3 cells do not produce a GM-CSA but do produce an lnterleukin-3). Nonetheless, this is a chapter written in the spirit of the book. I was also impressed by the contributions of Rozenszajn (lots of methodolgy) and to a lesser extent by other chapters in the book. 1 think that the book is useful, but it would be wise for intending research workers to read some of the original references quoted and (even better, but often impractical) to visit a laboratory where the individual techniques are in routine use. M. DEXTER Paterson Laboratories & Holt Radium Institute Manchester, U.K.
1573
0145-2126/8553.~ * .11() ~' 1985PergamonPressLtd.
BOOK
REVIEW
Hernatopoiesis, edited by David W. Golde, Churchill Livingstone, 1984.
After a long adolescence, experimental haematology has come of age. There have been many growing pains and many disappointments, but the result is a healthy and expanding area of research. The responsibility for this present state of affairs is largely based upon the development of suitable in vivo and in vitro techniques where the various mechanisms underlying growth and developmental work still needs to be done, but much of the groundwork has now been laid and tissue and cell culture systems, in particular, are not the black-box which they once were. This book, then, sets out to clarify, explain and point out the advantages and the pitfalls of many systems in common use. As the editor explains in the preface, 'this is a how-to-do-it book'. There are 13 chapters dealing with various systems, each one dealt ~ith by different authors. In common with other 'multi-author' texts, there is a wide variation in style, readability and usefulness. Some of the contributions are too short and do not fulfill the mandate. As a result, they will be of little use for newcomers to the field. Others are too long and egocentric and give an unbalanced view of research development and present methodologies - - relying instead on the authors own contributions to the field. Some of the chapters are adequately referenced - - and the experienced student or research worker should find them a useful source of references. Of the chapters which are useful, 1 would pick out the contributions of Kurland (granulocyte - - monocyte progenitor cells) - latthough there is some confusion over the term 'GM-CSA' being constitutively produced by WEHI-3 cells to my knowledge the \ \ ~ H I - 3 cells do not produce a GM-CSA but do produce an lnterleukin-3). Nonetheless, this is a chapter written in the spirit of the book. I was also impressed by the contributions of Rozenszajn (lots of methodolgy) and to a lesser extent by other chapters in the book. 1 think that the book is useful, but it would be wise for intending research workers to read some of the original references quoted and (even better, but often impractical) to visit a laboratory where the individual techniques are in routine use. M. DEXTER Paterson Laboratories & Holt Radium Institute Manchester, U.K.
1573