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Immune recognition
TIBS 13 - OctoSer 1988
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ethylene and acetylene. N-substituted porphyrins also result from the reaction of hydrazines with haemoglobin and myoglobin. The reaction of phenylhydrazine with haemoglobin in vivo results in the formation of erythrocyte aggregates called 'Heins bodies' that mimic the c a # liary-blocking aggregates of malarial patients. Since these interesting findings, an increasing number of contributions have revealed more and more biochemical as well as chemical details of/V~substituted porphyrins. The book can be divided into two parts. The chapters of the first half are arranged according to the nature of the chemislry (structural, spectroscopic, general reactions and synthesis) of Nsubstituted porphyrins. These chapters are valuable in understanding structure aspects of naturally-derived N-
substituted porphyrin as well as the mechanism of their biological reactions. One chapter is devoted to preparative methods for porphyrin with various types of N-substituents. Useful experimental procedures are briefly outlined. This part is essential reading for any scientist interested in preparing synthetic materials. For instance, synthetic N-substituted porphyrins have medical importance as intermediates for synthesis of radiolabeled metalloporphyrins which are useful in diagnostic imaging. The second half of this book deals with the biochemistry of N-substituted porphyrins although it is somewhat lacking in enzymological details. The first part in this section includes the inhibition of ferrochelatase by Nalkylporphyrins produced in liver
Not immune to change Complement by S. K. A. Law and K. B. M. Reid, IRL Press, 1988. £5.95/$11.95 (x + 72 pages) ISBN 1 85221 0613 I m m u n e Recognition by M. J. Owen and J. R. Lamb, IRL Press, 1988. £5.95/$11.95 (x + 73 pages) ISBN 1 85221 062 1 Lymphokines by A. S. Hamblin IRL Press, 1988. £5.95 (x + 71pages) ISBN 1 85221 055 9 Immunology is changing rapidly. The language of a phenomenological approach is being replaced with that of a molecular approach and so the whole subject opened out to the nonspecialist biochemist/molecular biologist. Therefore the three immunological titles in the new In Focus series of short (60-70 pages) paperbacks would seem apt for 'a new series of concise textbooks designed specifically to give undergraduate and graduate students a grasp of the new areas of biochemistry and medicine - areas where results are coming in thick and fast and standard texts are being left behind' (IRL Press advertisement). Generally I think these titles fulfil the stated aims - they are all certainly impressively up-tod a t e - although the quality is not even. Complement is written by two master practitioners of this difficult art - Alex Law and Ken Reid from the MRC
lmmunochemistry Unit in Oxford. The book is immediately appealing by having three tables summarizing the properties of the more than 30 proteins, in the serum and on the cell surface, involved in the complement system. We are then taken smoothly through the complement cascade and its control with the liberal use of diagrams and the emphasis always on structural aspects of function. This is followed by new insights into the occurrence of motifs in complement structure and a smattering of genetics. By this time we have encountered molecules resembling a bunch of tulips, a figure of eight, a string of beads and a starfish. A final illuminating chapter discusses the role of complement in health and disease. This is a gem of a book: a pleasure to read and a must for the molecular immunologist's bookshelf. Immune recognition describes how, in molecular terms, foreign material is recognized by antibodies and by T cells. It is co-authored by Mike Owen from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and Jonathon Lamb from the Royal Postgraduate Medical School. As is often found, the subject which is better understood, here antibodyantigen interaction, requires more attention than that which is less well understood, the T-cell receptorantigen interaction. In fact the chapters on T-cell recognition and the role of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) deal well with a complex sub-
microsomal extracts and also in the purified enzyme. Most of this section is devoted to the mechanism of Nalkylporphyrin production by cytochrome P-450 in hepatic microsomes as well as from the reaction of hydrazines with haemoproteins. With respect to these mechanisms, how certain drugs can act as "suicide substrates' during the oxidative process catalysed by cytochrome P-450 is very interesting for biochemists working with these enzymes. The author makes a lot of effort to cite every relevant article up to 1987. This is clearly a book that specialists will read with great pleasure. SHIGEKI TAKEMOR!
Faculty of h~tegratedArts a~zdSciences, Hiroshinm University, Hiroshima 730,Japan.
ject. Surely though, the naming of the contact regions (for that is all they are) between antigen, MHC and T cell receptor as internal agretope, desetope, epitope, histotope, paratope and restitope belongs to a bygone age. In contrast the beautiful colour graphics pictures of complexes of antibody Fab fragments and antigen are all elegance and refreshing simplicity. Unfortunately I have to report that the section on antibody structure contains a number of statements which, in deference to brevity, are misleading and some of which are incorrect. For instance in contradiction to the text IgD has no Cn4 domain and the concept that in the hinge region of IgG 'prolines confer flexibility allowing the molecule to open and close' is one to make a crystallographer shudder. Also, the structural basis of antibody diversity (hypervariable loops etc.) was not well explored. In summary, this book is more rewarding on the T- cell than the antibody side of immune recognition. Lymphokines by Anne Hamblin of St Guys and St Thomas' Medical School is a book I approached with some trepidation. I expected to be bombarded with factors encoded as crudely abbreviated four-letter words and with interleukins or IL-n, where n is always a number one greater than you thought was the current state of knowledge. These agents would act on cells in complex interrelated fashion to produce a multitude of effects with few well characterized molecules in sight. However, although this scenario is partially realized on reading the book, I
4{}7
ethylene and acetylene. N-substituted porphyrins also result from the reaction of hydrazines with haemoglobin and myoglobin. The reaction of phenylhydrazine with haemoglobin in vivo results in the formation of erythrocyte aggregates called 'Heins bodies' that mimic the c a # liary-blocking aggregates of malarial patients. Since these interesting findings, an increasing number of contributions have revealed more and more biochemical as well as chemical details of/V~substituted porphyrins. The book can be divided into two parts. The chapters of the first half are arranged according to the nature of the chemislry (structural, spectroscopic, general reactions and synthesis) of Nsubstituted porphyrins. These chapters are valuable in understanding structure aspects of naturally-derived N-
substituted porphyrin as well as the mechanism of their biological reactions. One chapter is devoted to preparative methods for porphyrin with various types of N-substituents. Useful experimental procedures are briefly outlined. This part is essential reading for any scientist interested in preparing synthetic materials. For instance, synthetic N-substituted porphyrins have medical importance as intermediates for synthesis of radiolabeled metalloporphyrins which are useful in diagnostic imaging. The second half of this book deals with the biochemistry of N-substituted porphyrins although it is somewhat lacking in enzymological details. The first part in this section includes the inhibition of ferrochelatase by Nalkylporphyrins produced in liver
Not immune to change Complement by S. K. A. Law and K. B. M. Reid, IRL Press, 1988. £5.95/$11.95 (x + 72 pages) ISBN 1 85221 0613 I m m u n e Recognition by M. J. Owen and J. R. Lamb, IRL Press, 1988. £5.95/$11.95 (x + 73 pages) ISBN 1 85221 062 1 Lymphokines by A. S. Hamblin IRL Press, 1988. £5.95 (x + 71pages) ISBN 1 85221 055 9 Immunology is changing rapidly. The language of a phenomenological approach is being replaced with that of a molecular approach and so the whole subject opened out to the nonspecialist biochemist/molecular biologist. Therefore the three immunological titles in the new In Focus series of short (60-70 pages) paperbacks would seem apt for 'a new series of concise textbooks designed specifically to give undergraduate and graduate students a grasp of the new areas of biochemistry and medicine - areas where results are coming in thick and fast and standard texts are being left behind' (IRL Press advertisement). Generally I think these titles fulfil the stated aims - they are all certainly impressively up-tod a t e - although the quality is not even. Complement is written by two master practitioners of this difficult art - Alex Law and Ken Reid from the MRC
lmmunochemistry Unit in Oxford. The book is immediately appealing by having three tables summarizing the properties of the more than 30 proteins, in the serum and on the cell surface, involved in the complement system. We are then taken smoothly through the complement cascade and its control with the liberal use of diagrams and the emphasis always on structural aspects of function. This is followed by new insights into the occurrence of motifs in complement structure and a smattering of genetics. By this time we have encountered molecules resembling a bunch of tulips, a figure of eight, a string of beads and a starfish. A final illuminating chapter discusses the role of complement in health and disease. This is a gem of a book: a pleasure to read and a must for the molecular immunologist's bookshelf. Immune recognition describes how, in molecular terms, foreign material is recognized by antibodies and by T cells. It is co-authored by Mike Owen from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and Jonathon Lamb from the Royal Postgraduate Medical School. As is often found, the subject which is better understood, here antibodyantigen interaction, requires more attention than that which is less well understood, the T-cell receptorantigen interaction. In fact the chapters on T-cell recognition and the role of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) deal well with a complex sub-
microsomal extracts and also in the purified enzyme. Most of this section is devoted to the mechanism of Nalkylporphyrin production by cytochrome P-450 in hepatic microsomes as well as from the reaction of hydrazines with haemoproteins. With respect to these mechanisms, how certain drugs can act as "suicide substrates' during the oxidative process catalysed by cytochrome P-450 is very interesting for biochemists working with these enzymes. The author makes a lot of effort to cite every relevant article up to 1987. This is clearly a book that specialists will read with great pleasure. SHIGEKI TAKEMOR!
Faculty of h~tegratedArts a~zdSciences, Hiroshinm University, Hiroshima 730,Japan.
ject. Surely though, the naming of the contact regions (for that is all they are) between antigen, MHC and T cell receptor as internal agretope, desetope, epitope, histotope, paratope and restitope belongs to a bygone age. In contrast the beautiful colour graphics pictures of complexes of antibody Fab fragments and antigen are all elegance and refreshing simplicity. Unfortunately I have to report that the section on antibody structure contains a number of statements which, in deference to brevity, are misleading and some of which are incorrect. For instance in contradiction to the text IgD has no Cn4 domain and the concept that in the hinge region of IgG 'prolines confer flexibility allowing the molecule to open and close' is one to make a crystallographer shudder. Also, the structural basis of antibody diversity (hypervariable loops etc.) was not well explored. In summary, this book is more rewarding on the T- cell than the antibody side of immune recognition. Lymphokines by Anne Hamblin of St Guys and St Thomas' Medical School is a book I approached with some trepidation. I expected to be bombarded with factors encoded as crudely abbreviated four-letter words and with interleukins or IL-n, where n is always a number one greater than you thought was the current state of knowledge. These agents would act on cells in complex interrelated fashion to produce a multitude of effects with few well characterized molecules in sight. However, although this scenario is partially realized on reading the book, I