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Human hybridomas: Diagnostic and therapeutic applications
Journal of Immunological Methods, 103 (1987) 285-288 Elsevier
285
JIM 04489 B o o k reviews Tumbleson, M.E. (Ed.), Swine in Biomedical Research, Vol. 3, xxiv + 648 pp., illus. Plenum Press, New York, 1986. $95.00, ISBN 0-30642416-9 The pig is distinguished by many anatomic and physiological traits closely similar to those of man. They include size, dietary habits, renal and pulmonary structure and function, and coronary artery distribution. Therefore the pig provides a suitable model for biomedical studies. Recent information on this subject has been presented at a conference held in June 1985 at the University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, U.S.A. Proceedings of this conference, published in three volumes, cover a wide range of specialist fields from surgery and pharmacology to nutrition. The development of miniature swine, i.e., biologically normal pigs of small adult size, was accomplished by breeding programs in U.S.A., F.R.G. and other countries, described in Vol. 1 of the proceedings. The availability of these animals allowed their use as a new research tool in different areas of interest including the immune system. Vol. 3 comprises sections devoted to haemodynamics, cardiovascular and renal systems, and immunology. In the latter the most extensive presentation is a review entitled 'The swine major histocompatibility complex: Its structure and function', by J.K. Lunney, M.D. Pescovitz and D.H. Sachs. The authors show here data obtained from their studies in inbred miniature swine, one of few large
animals adaptable for genetic manipulation. Swine leukocyte antigens were identified by serological typing and mixed lymphocyte reaction. The SLA complex has been found to contain three types of genes: class I, II and III. A number of gene products encoded by class I and II loci were isolated and characterized. Their distribution among body cells resembles that of the corresponding human antigens. They influence the survival of skin, kidney, heart, liver, pancreas, and bone marrow transplants. (Four related reports are included in Vol. 1 of the proceedings.) The pig served as a model for assessing the effect of class II matching on renal allograft survival. Moreover the association of antibody responses to protein, bacterial and viral antigens with SLA haplotype has been demonstrated. Current work in this area aims at the identification of genes associated with disease resistance in swine. Other contributions to this section deal with the properties of pig lymphocyte populations, thymic hormone function and use of the pig as a model for partial splenectomy and studies of the impact of maternal antibodies on the immune system of developing neonates. These volumes represent a valuable contribution to our knowledge of porcine biology and their publication is a measure of the value of pigs as experimental animals.
F. BOREK
JIM 04491
Strelkauskas, A.J. (Ed.), Human Hybridomas: Diagnostics and Therapeutic Applications, v + 289 pp. Marcel Dekker, New York, 1986. $89.75, ISBN 0-8247-7521-X This text presents a series of reviews on current approaches to the production of human mono-
clonal antibodies. The book is divided into three sections with each section containing chapters from leading workers in this field. The first of these sections deals with 'General and technical considerations' and is comprised of seven chapters reviewing the state of the art in human hybridisation, in vitro immunization and
0022-1759/87/$03.50 © 1987 ElsevierSciencePublishers B.V. (BiomedicalDivision)
286 EBV transformation. This section discusses the merits and disadvantages of each technique but does not dwell in detail on the individual methodologies. Two chapters in this section are of interest to those working in this area. The chapter by Bieber and Teng deals well with the subject of in vitro immunization while the chapter by O'Hare and Edwards provides a realistic view of current technology for human monoclonal antibody production. The second section of the text entitled 'Some applications of human monoclonal antibodies' deals exclusively with the use of human monoclonal antibodies in the diagnosis and treatment of tumours. This text would therefore be of particular interest to those working in oncology but
would be of limited interest to those working in other areas. The last section (Fifial considerations), includes a chapter on regulatory conditions that would be applied to therapeutic human monoclonal antibody preparation. This chapter is particularly interesting and covers an important topic which is too often neglected. The contributions by each of the authors are of high quality but are by necessity repetitive. The text is well referenced and would provide a useful stepping stone to more detailed texts to those wishing to embark on work in this field. MOIRA MCCANN
JIM04514
Cowden, R.R. and Harrison, F.W. (Eds.), A d oances in microscopy, xviii + 344 pp., illus. Alan R. Liss, New York, 1985. £38.00, ISBN 0-84515046-4 In the three centuries since the time of Leeuwenhoek microscopy has undergone many improvements and refinements, but the most spectacular technical developments have occurred in our electronic age. The advent of computers and sensors such as television cameras or other devices rapidly generating two-dimensional matrices of digitizable points created new possibilities for image analysis in the life sciences. In light microscopy electronic imaging greatly extended the range of structures and processes detectable in living cells, revealed fine details that previously could not be seen by eye or captured on photomicrographs, and facilitated the recording of changes in cellular components. In electron microscopy image-processing with computers has become a standard procedure in many laboratories. Ultrastructural histochemistry with the high-voltage EM enabled a threedimensional analysis of cell morphology without resort to serial sections. These and related meth-
odological innovations were reviewed at the American Microscopical Society Symposium, held in December 1983 in Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A. and this book is based on this symposium. The papers dealing with light microscopic methods include a review of cell motility studies using video-enhanced microscopy, a report on the cell volume and dry mass measurements by computer-assisted micro-interferometry, an account of the use of fluorescent probes and video-intensified microscopy in examining the regulatory function of calcium ions in mitosis, and a review of the applications of microspectrofluorometry to studies on metabolism in normal and pathological cells and on the intracellular fate of fluorescent carcinogens. Also described are a coordinated use of optical and electron microscopes in the analysis of the cytoplasmic transport of subcellular particles and a new instrument combining simultaneous light and scanning electron microscopy in identifying cell types both by cell-surface morphology and cytochemical markers or in immunocytochemical studies employing small gold markers. A separate section is devoted to the methods of analyzing cell nuclei and chromatin,
285
JIM 04489 B o o k reviews Tumbleson, M.E. (Ed.), Swine in Biomedical Research, Vol. 3, xxiv + 648 pp., illus. Plenum Press, New York, 1986. $95.00, ISBN 0-30642416-9 The pig is distinguished by many anatomic and physiological traits closely similar to those of man. They include size, dietary habits, renal and pulmonary structure and function, and coronary artery distribution. Therefore the pig provides a suitable model for biomedical studies. Recent information on this subject has been presented at a conference held in June 1985 at the University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, U.S.A. Proceedings of this conference, published in three volumes, cover a wide range of specialist fields from surgery and pharmacology to nutrition. The development of miniature swine, i.e., biologically normal pigs of small adult size, was accomplished by breeding programs in U.S.A., F.R.G. and other countries, described in Vol. 1 of the proceedings. The availability of these animals allowed their use as a new research tool in different areas of interest including the immune system. Vol. 3 comprises sections devoted to haemodynamics, cardiovascular and renal systems, and immunology. In the latter the most extensive presentation is a review entitled 'The swine major histocompatibility complex: Its structure and function', by J.K. Lunney, M.D. Pescovitz and D.H. Sachs. The authors show here data obtained from their studies in inbred miniature swine, one of few large
animals adaptable for genetic manipulation. Swine leukocyte antigens were identified by serological typing and mixed lymphocyte reaction. The SLA complex has been found to contain three types of genes: class I, II and III. A number of gene products encoded by class I and II loci were isolated and characterized. Their distribution among body cells resembles that of the corresponding human antigens. They influence the survival of skin, kidney, heart, liver, pancreas, and bone marrow transplants. (Four related reports are included in Vol. 1 of the proceedings.) The pig served as a model for assessing the effect of class II matching on renal allograft survival. Moreover the association of antibody responses to protein, bacterial and viral antigens with SLA haplotype has been demonstrated. Current work in this area aims at the identification of genes associated with disease resistance in swine. Other contributions to this section deal with the properties of pig lymphocyte populations, thymic hormone function and use of the pig as a model for partial splenectomy and studies of the impact of maternal antibodies on the immune system of developing neonates. These volumes represent a valuable contribution to our knowledge of porcine biology and their publication is a measure of the value of pigs as experimental animals.
F. BOREK
JIM 04491
Strelkauskas, A.J. (Ed.), Human Hybridomas: Diagnostics and Therapeutic Applications, v + 289 pp. Marcel Dekker, New York, 1986. $89.75, ISBN 0-8247-7521-X This text presents a series of reviews on current approaches to the production of human mono-
clonal antibodies. The book is divided into three sections with each section containing chapters from leading workers in this field. The first of these sections deals with 'General and technical considerations' and is comprised of seven chapters reviewing the state of the art in human hybridisation, in vitro immunization and
0022-1759/87/$03.50 © 1987 ElsevierSciencePublishers B.V. (BiomedicalDivision)
286 EBV transformation. This section discusses the merits and disadvantages of each technique but does not dwell in detail on the individual methodologies. Two chapters in this section are of interest to those working in this area. The chapter by Bieber and Teng deals well with the subject of in vitro immunization while the chapter by O'Hare and Edwards provides a realistic view of current technology for human monoclonal antibody production. The second section of the text entitled 'Some applications of human monoclonal antibodies' deals exclusively with the use of human monoclonal antibodies in the diagnosis and treatment of tumours. This text would therefore be of particular interest to those working in oncology but
would be of limited interest to those working in other areas. The last section (Fifial considerations), includes a chapter on regulatory conditions that would be applied to therapeutic human monoclonal antibody preparation. This chapter is particularly interesting and covers an important topic which is too often neglected. The contributions by each of the authors are of high quality but are by necessity repetitive. The text is well referenced and would provide a useful stepping stone to more detailed texts to those wishing to embark on work in this field. MOIRA MCCANN
JIM04514
Cowden, R.R. and Harrison, F.W. (Eds.), A d oances in microscopy, xviii + 344 pp., illus. Alan R. Liss, New York, 1985. £38.00, ISBN 0-84515046-4 In the three centuries since the time of Leeuwenhoek microscopy has undergone many improvements and refinements, but the most spectacular technical developments have occurred in our electronic age. The advent of computers and sensors such as television cameras or other devices rapidly generating two-dimensional matrices of digitizable points created new possibilities for image analysis in the life sciences. In light microscopy electronic imaging greatly extended the range of structures and processes detectable in living cells, revealed fine details that previously could not be seen by eye or captured on photomicrographs, and facilitated the recording of changes in cellular components. In electron microscopy image-processing with computers has become a standard procedure in many laboratories. Ultrastructural histochemistry with the high-voltage EM enabled a threedimensional analysis of cell morphology without resort to serial sections. These and related meth-
odological innovations were reviewed at the American Microscopical Society Symposium, held in December 1983 in Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A. and this book is based on this symposium. The papers dealing with light microscopic methods include a review of cell motility studies using video-enhanced microscopy, a report on the cell volume and dry mass measurements by computer-assisted micro-interferometry, an account of the use of fluorescent probes and video-intensified microscopy in examining the regulatory function of calcium ions in mitosis, and a review of the applications of microspectrofluorometry to studies on metabolism in normal and pathological cells and on the intracellular fate of fluorescent carcinogens. Also described are a coordinated use of optical and electron microscopes in the analysis of the cytoplasmic transport of subcellular particles and a new instrument combining simultaneous light and scanning electron microscopy in identifying cell types both by cell-surface morphology and cytochemical markers or in immunocytochemical studies employing small gold markers. A separate section is devoted to the methods of analyzing cell nuclei and chromatin,