- Email: [email protected]
Immunological diseases
Gen. Pharmac. Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 265-266, 1990
Pergamon Press plc. Printed in Great Britain
BOOK REVIEWS Immunological Diseases--Edited by M. Samter, D. W. Talmage, M. M. Frank, K. F. Austen and H. N. Claman. 4th edn. Vol. I. pp. 1-978. Vol. II, pp. 979-2044. 1988. Little, Brown and Co., Waltham, Mass. £145. The previous editions of this standard work appeared in 1965, 1971 and 1978. There have been many advances in our understanding of immunological diseases over the past ten years and these are reflected in the present two volumes which have been brought up to date by the 123 contributors. Volume 1 contains two main sections; (1) Basic immunology [the immune system; immunogens and antigens; structure of antibodies; antigen recognition by T-cells; regulation of the immune response; mucosal immune system; IgE synthesis; mast cells and hypersensitivity; complement system; immune complex injury; delayed hypersensitivity; eosinophil; transplantation; immunological tolerance; immunology of reproduction; detection and measurement of the immune response; HLA system]; (2) Nonatopic immunological disorders [immunodeficiency diseases, primary and acquired; transplantation of bone marrow; transplantation of solid organs; tumor immunology; lympho-proliferation; multiple myeloma and plasma cell dyscrasias; amyloidosis; immunosuppressives and immunoadjuvants; allergic reactions to drugs; host resistance to infection; neutrophils; intracellular parasites and mononuclear phagocytes; bacteria; mycobacterial infection; fungal infection; host responses to viruses; immunoparasitology; adverse responses to immunization; infection of the compromised host]. Volume 2 contains section (3) Atopic diseases [antigens that cause atopic diseases; IgE; genetics of atopic disease; allergic rhinitis; bronchial asthma; anaphylactic syndrome; reactions to aspirin and aspirin-like drugs; reactions to foods; insect venom allergyl; (4) allergic reaction patterns of skin [urticaria and angiodema; atopic dermatitis; allergic contact dermatitis; erythema nodosum; erythema multiforme and Stevens-Johnson syndrome; cutaneous necrorising venulitis; bullous skin diseases; mastocytosis]; (5) Diseases with immunological features [systemic lupus erythematosus; rheumatoid arthritis; systemic vasculitis; Sjogren's syndrome; ankylosing spondylitis; cardiovascular disease including rheumatic fever; infiltrative lung disease; sarcoidosis; autoimmune hemolytic anemia; platelet disorders; blood groups and hazards of transfusion; hemolytic disease of newborn; cryopathies, cryogiobulins and cryofibrinogenemia; thyroid; autoimmune poly-endocrinopathies; immunological infertility; diabetes mellitus; renal disease; myasthenia gravis; demyelinating disease of CNS and PNS; ocular allergy; hepatobiliary diseases; gastrointestinal tract; immunology of old age]. Each chapter is well illustrated and has an extensive reference list. There is a complete index to each volume. The editors suggest that this is the last edition which will be organised according to the patterns of disease. The emphasis of future editions will shift from the clinical syndromes to the question why the majority of the population, which has the same inflammatory cells and presumably comparable mediators, is protected from immunological disease. The present books are excellent reference volumes. Basis and Mechanisms of Regulation of Cytochrome P-450--Edited by K. Ruckpaul and H. Rein. Vol. 1. 252 pp. 1989. Frontiers in Biotransformation. Taylor & Francis, London. £30.
Over the last ten years more than ten thousand papers have been published on P-450. This volume summarises much of this information. The main chapters are on regulation mechanisms; catalytically active metalloporphyrin models; structural multiplicity [induced by barbiturates, polycyclic aromatics, steroids, ethanol, chlorfibate]; multiple activities [C-hydroxylation, heteroatom oxidation, heteroatom release, epoxidation oxidative group migration, heme alkylation]; sexually differentiated hepatic drug and steroid metabolism; evolution, structure and gene regulation of P-450. The average rate of amino acid replacement in P-450 is calculated to be 1.8 x 10-9 replacements per site per year. The variation in rates in different animal lines differs from this indicating functional and structural constraints on the system. This might be expected in a key enzyme of xenobiotic transformation. ImmunogiobuUn Genes---Edited by T. Honjo, F. W. Alt and T. H. Rabbitts. 410 pp. 1989. Academic Press, London. £40. This book has chapters on B-cell differentiation and B lymphocyte lineage; long-term lymphoid cultures; heavy chain variable region locus; light chain genes; constant region genes; molecular mechanisms of class switching; chicken antibodies; Ig in lower vertebrates; Ig deficiencies; B-cell neoplasias; chimaeric Ig genes; Ig in transgenic mice; factors regulating Ig transcription; J-chain; Ig superfamily. The study of Ig has developed from analysis into two heavy and two light chains; the light chain having a common segment and a variable segment; the application of DNA recombinant technology leading to two genes/one polypeptide; these studies have had a great impact not only on immunology but also on molecular biology. Interrelations among Metal Ions, Enzymes, and Gene Expression--Edited by H. Sigel and A. Sigel. Vol. 25. 557 pp. 1989. Metal Ions in Biological Systems. Marcel Dekker, New York. US $135 (U.S.A. and Canada) and US $162 (elsewhere). This volume surveys the molecular mechanisms of metal ion induced mutagenesis in vitro; metallonucleases; metalloregulatory proteins; yeast metallothionein; zinc binding proteins involved in nucleic acid replication; zinc fingers; EF-hand calcium binding proteins; site directed mutagenesis of alcohol dehydrogenase; carboxypeptidase A; alkaline phosphatase; heine proteins; cytochrome c peroxidase. In many cells the synthesis of metallothioneins is induced at the transcriptional level by the same metals that subsequently bind to the expressed protein. The role of the metal responsive switches in the cell is fully discussed in this interesting volume. Biochemistry of Antimicrohial Action---T. J. Franklin and G. A. Snow (in collaboration with K. J. Barrett-Bee and R. D. Nolan). 4th edn. 216 pp. 1989. Chapman & Hall, London. US $72.50 (Hardback) and US $27.50 (paperback). This new edition covers the development of antimicrobial agents; the bacterial cell wall; antiseptics, antibiotics and the cell membrane; inhibitors of protein synthesis; antifungal, antiprotozoal and antiviral agents; how antimicrobial
265
Pergamon Press plc. Printed in Great Britain
BOOK REVIEWS Immunological Diseases--Edited by M. Samter, D. W. Talmage, M. M. Frank, K. F. Austen and H. N. Claman. 4th edn. Vol. I. pp. 1-978. Vol. II, pp. 979-2044. 1988. Little, Brown and Co., Waltham, Mass. £145. The previous editions of this standard work appeared in 1965, 1971 and 1978. There have been many advances in our understanding of immunological diseases over the past ten years and these are reflected in the present two volumes which have been brought up to date by the 123 contributors. Volume 1 contains two main sections; (1) Basic immunology [the immune system; immunogens and antigens; structure of antibodies; antigen recognition by T-cells; regulation of the immune response; mucosal immune system; IgE synthesis; mast cells and hypersensitivity; complement system; immune complex injury; delayed hypersensitivity; eosinophil; transplantation; immunological tolerance; immunology of reproduction; detection and measurement of the immune response; HLA system]; (2) Nonatopic immunological disorders [immunodeficiency diseases, primary and acquired; transplantation of bone marrow; transplantation of solid organs; tumor immunology; lympho-proliferation; multiple myeloma and plasma cell dyscrasias; amyloidosis; immunosuppressives and immunoadjuvants; allergic reactions to drugs; host resistance to infection; neutrophils; intracellular parasites and mononuclear phagocytes; bacteria; mycobacterial infection; fungal infection; host responses to viruses; immunoparasitology; adverse responses to immunization; infection of the compromised host]. Volume 2 contains section (3) Atopic diseases [antigens that cause atopic diseases; IgE; genetics of atopic disease; allergic rhinitis; bronchial asthma; anaphylactic syndrome; reactions to aspirin and aspirin-like drugs; reactions to foods; insect venom allergyl; (4) allergic reaction patterns of skin [urticaria and angiodema; atopic dermatitis; allergic contact dermatitis; erythema nodosum; erythema multiforme and Stevens-Johnson syndrome; cutaneous necrorising venulitis; bullous skin diseases; mastocytosis]; (5) Diseases with immunological features [systemic lupus erythematosus; rheumatoid arthritis; systemic vasculitis; Sjogren's syndrome; ankylosing spondylitis; cardiovascular disease including rheumatic fever; infiltrative lung disease; sarcoidosis; autoimmune hemolytic anemia; platelet disorders; blood groups and hazards of transfusion; hemolytic disease of newborn; cryopathies, cryogiobulins and cryofibrinogenemia; thyroid; autoimmune poly-endocrinopathies; immunological infertility; diabetes mellitus; renal disease; myasthenia gravis; demyelinating disease of CNS and PNS; ocular allergy; hepatobiliary diseases; gastrointestinal tract; immunology of old age]. Each chapter is well illustrated and has an extensive reference list. There is a complete index to each volume. The editors suggest that this is the last edition which will be organised according to the patterns of disease. The emphasis of future editions will shift from the clinical syndromes to the question why the majority of the population, which has the same inflammatory cells and presumably comparable mediators, is protected from immunological disease. The present books are excellent reference volumes. Basis and Mechanisms of Regulation of Cytochrome P-450--Edited by K. Ruckpaul and H. Rein. Vol. 1. 252 pp. 1989. Frontiers in Biotransformation. Taylor & Francis, London. £30.
Over the last ten years more than ten thousand papers have been published on P-450. This volume summarises much of this information. The main chapters are on regulation mechanisms; catalytically active metalloporphyrin models; structural multiplicity [induced by barbiturates, polycyclic aromatics, steroids, ethanol, chlorfibate]; multiple activities [C-hydroxylation, heteroatom oxidation, heteroatom release, epoxidation oxidative group migration, heme alkylation]; sexually differentiated hepatic drug and steroid metabolism; evolution, structure and gene regulation of P-450. The average rate of amino acid replacement in P-450 is calculated to be 1.8 x 10-9 replacements per site per year. The variation in rates in different animal lines differs from this indicating functional and structural constraints on the system. This might be expected in a key enzyme of xenobiotic transformation. ImmunogiobuUn Genes---Edited by T. Honjo, F. W. Alt and T. H. Rabbitts. 410 pp. 1989. Academic Press, London. £40. This book has chapters on B-cell differentiation and B lymphocyte lineage; long-term lymphoid cultures; heavy chain variable region locus; light chain genes; constant region genes; molecular mechanisms of class switching; chicken antibodies; Ig in lower vertebrates; Ig deficiencies; B-cell neoplasias; chimaeric Ig genes; Ig in transgenic mice; factors regulating Ig transcription; J-chain; Ig superfamily. The study of Ig has developed from analysis into two heavy and two light chains; the light chain having a common segment and a variable segment; the application of DNA recombinant technology leading to two genes/one polypeptide; these studies have had a great impact not only on immunology but also on molecular biology. Interrelations among Metal Ions, Enzymes, and Gene Expression--Edited by H. Sigel and A. Sigel. Vol. 25. 557 pp. 1989. Metal Ions in Biological Systems. Marcel Dekker, New York. US $135 (U.S.A. and Canada) and US $162 (elsewhere). This volume surveys the molecular mechanisms of metal ion induced mutagenesis in vitro; metallonucleases; metalloregulatory proteins; yeast metallothionein; zinc binding proteins involved in nucleic acid replication; zinc fingers; EF-hand calcium binding proteins; site directed mutagenesis of alcohol dehydrogenase; carboxypeptidase A; alkaline phosphatase; heine proteins; cytochrome c peroxidase. In many cells the synthesis of metallothioneins is induced at the transcriptional level by the same metals that subsequently bind to the expressed protein. The role of the metal responsive switches in the cell is fully discussed in this interesting volume. Biochemistry of Antimicrohial Action---T. J. Franklin and G. A. Snow (in collaboration with K. J. Barrett-Bee and R. D. Nolan). 4th edn. 216 pp. 1989. Chapman & Hall, London. US $72.50 (Hardback) and US $27.50 (paperback). This new edition covers the development of antimicrobial agents; the bacterial cell wall; antiseptics, antibiotics and the cell membrane; inhibitors of protein synthesis; antifungal, antiprotozoal and antiviral agents; how antimicrobial
265