- Email: [email protected]
Overcoming incompatibility
524
Forum
TRENDS in Immunology Vol.22 No.9 September 2001
Book Review
You cannot dream of a better start Lymphocyte Development. Cell Selection Events and Signals During Immune Ontogeny by S. Pillai Birkhäuser, 2000. $125.00 hdbk (xi + 528 pages) ISBN 0 8176 3853 9
This is a lovely book. Imagine that you are about to start a PhD on a topic within the field of lymphocyte differentiation. You will want to have state-of-the-art information about the molecular mechanisms of cellfate decisions during early hematopoiesis and the whole developmental process of T-, B- and NK-cells. This book will certainly make you happy. You will have not only a detailed overview of the current literature, but a description of the concepts also, with clarifying illustrations that are readily understandable yet mentally challenging. The book is written by a single author (who did a really stimulating job) and therefore, it is not surprising that the style of the book is homogenous and that each concept is fully developed by references both backwards and forwards throughout the book. Chapters are categorized according to the successive stages of development in the pathways towards the eventual B-, T- and NK-cell phenotypes. They enable the reader to place the theme of each differentiation process within the scope of other themes that will be developed in later chapters and vice versa. The book reads very easily, and if your background knowledge of immunology or cell biology is limited, the author is there to help by describing the essential concepts (e.g. transcription factors, signal transduction, apoptosis, gene rearrangement and the selection process). Nevertheless, even if you are experienced in the field, the current state of knowledge is reviewed in depth and provides a valuable reference source. In this respect, http://immunology.trends.com
this book is unique. It is more in depth than the average text book, but surprisingly easy to understand for beginners. Therefore, I recommend every researcher involved in lymphocyte developmental research to read this book and keep it on their shelf. It will be most inspiring. It will save days of literature searching and guide you to understand the experimental approach in the field. This book is a must-have for every laboratory involved in this research area. How will this book cope with future developments? It is clear that any profound work on these topics will become rapidly outdated and therefore, the relevance of this book can be momentary only. I wonder if the author will have the courage and the time to update the text on a regular basis. One attempt that the author has made is to provide an online update of the 22 tables in the book (http://www. mgh.harvard.edu/depts/cancercenter/ tables.html). These include: the transcription factors implicated in commitment and proliferation early in hematopoiesis; mutations in the genes required for V(D)J recombination; and a summary of the developmental roles of tyrosine kinases linked to antigenreceptor signaling. Also, the author requests that readers inform him of any new, relevant data. I hope that this site will become a forum for investigators in the field and initiate a continuous update of this research topic. Time will tell. For the moment, only a few tables have been updated and most tables are ‘under construction’, which is just another way of saying that they are not available yet. In summary, the book is written for researchers in lymphocyte development, with a focus on murine experimental models. Other animal models are not presented. Clinicians or researchers interested in human immunology will be less satisfied, although there is one relevant topic on naturally occurring disorders of lymphocyte development. I warmly recommend this book to any new investigators in the field of lymphocyte development as well as to the experienced researcher.
Jean Plum Dept of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Ghent University Hospital, University of Ghent, 4BlokA, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Gent, Belgium. e-mail: [email protected]
Overcoming incompatibility Pathology and Immunology of Transplantation and Rejection edited by S. Thiru and H. Waldmann Blackwell Science, 2001. £125.00 hdbk (x + 583 pages) ISBN 0 632 03676 1
For many patients with end-stage renal-, liver- or heart-failure, organ transplantation is the optimal treatment. Currently, the survival rate of solid-organ grafts is ≈85% at one year post-transplantation, and although episodes of acute rejection occur in approximately one-third of patients, these are no longer a common cause of loss of the graft. Nevertheless, major problems and challenges remain to be overcome. Immunosuppressive agents, such as cyclosporin and tacrolimus, which are the mainstay of current immunosuppressive regimens, have had little or no effect on reducing the incidence of chronic rejection, which accounts now for most failures of transplantation. Moreover, nonspecific immunosuppression leaves recipients susceptible to opportunistic infections (e.g. with cytomegalovirus) and at a greatly increased risk of certain types of malignancy, notably lymphoproliferative disease driven by infection with Epstein–Barr virus, and squamous-cell carcinoma of the skin. Also, immunosuppressive agents contribute significantly to cardiovascular disease in transplant recipients, and thiis a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In the not-toodistant future, strategies for inducing donor-specific immunological tolerance
1471-4906/01/$ – see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Forum
might become a clinical reality. However, half a century after Medawar and colleagues first demonstrated the phenomenon of immunological tolerance in experimental animals, the clinical acceptance of grafts remains entirely dependent on the use of nonspecific immunosuppressive agents. An understanding of the relevant immunology and pathology is an important requirement for anyone involved in the care of patients undergoing transplantation and for those undertaking research in the field of transplantation. Books covering these topics fall into two broad categories. Organ-specific books on transplantation, of which there are an increasing number, usually include significant sections on immunopathology as it relates to the particular organ in question. Transplantation immunopathology books, of which there are very few recent examples, provide an overview of the subject as it applies to each of the commonly transplanted solid organs and tissues. Pathology and Immunology of Transplantation and Rejection is the most recent example of the latter category. It is a well-produced book of manageable size, with a number of outstandingly good chapters. This book is somewhat similar in scope to Solid Organ Transplant Rejection1, published five years earlier. Both books provide comprehensive and well-referenced accounts of the basic immunology of transplantation, and experimental and clinical immunosuppression, and the immunopathology of transplantation as it relates to each of the different types of solid-organ transplants. As would be expected, the later chapters in both books include numerous photomicrographs (mostly black and white) to illustrate the relevant histopathology. The contributors to Pathology and Immunology of Transplantation and Rejection are mainly drawn from the UK, whereas the contributors to Solid Organ Transplant Rejection are predominantly North American. Pathology and Immunology of Transplantation and Rejection is somewhat more wide-ranging in that it incorporates chapters on the transplantation of skin, pancreatic islets and corneas, as well as the viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections to which all immunosuppressed transplant recipients are susceptible. http://immunology.trends.com
TRENDS in Immunology Vol.22 No.9 September 2001
The chapters on infection are written from the perspective of the pathologist rather than the clinician; if a detailed account of the diagnosis and management of infection in the transplant recipient were required, the reader would need to consult moreclinically based texts, such as Transplant Infections2. Similarly, any reader seeking a thorough description of the malignant conditions to which transplant patients are susceptible would need to look elsewhere. These are not serious criticisms, and the editors are to be congratulated on having produced a book for which there is a clear requirement. The field is fast moving and already, since the publication of this book, there have been notable achievements. For example, new immunosuppressive agents have moved nearer to clinical use, the Edmonton group have reported success in the transplantation of human pancreatic islets3, pigs have been successfully cloned (opening up new opportunities in xenotransplantation) and the crystal structure of T-cell receptor bound to allogeneic MHC has been determined. These examples are highlighted not by way of criticism of the
525
book but rather, to illustrate the pace of progress. Pathology and Immunology of Transplantation and Rejection is to be strongly recommended to anyone with an interest in transplantation. Surgeons, physicians and pathologists involved in clinical transplantation will all find much of value within its covers, and for scientists undertaking research in the field of clinical or experimental transplantation, the book provides a wellwritten account of the current state of the art. J. Andrew Bradley Dept of Surgery, University of Cambridge Clinical School, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK CB2 2QQ. e-mail: [email protected]
References 1 Solez, K. et al., eds (1996) Solid Organ Transplant Rejection (Mechanisms, Pathology and Diagnosis), Marcel Dekker 2 Bowden, R.A. et al. (1998) Transplant Infections, Lippincott–Raven 3 Shapiro, A.M.J. et al. (2000) Islet transplantation in seven patients with type 1 diabetes using a glucocorticoid free immunosuppressive regimen. New Engl. J. Med. 343, 230–238
Trends in Immunology online High quality printouts (from PDF files) and links to other articles, other journals and cited software and databases. All you have to do is: Obtain your subscription key from the address label of your print subscription Go to http://www.biomednet.com Click on the ‘Claim online access’ button at the bottom of the page When you see the BioMedNet login screen, enter your BioMedNet username and password. If you are not already a member please click on the ‘Join Now’ button and register. You will then be asked to enter your subscription key. Once confirmed you can view the full text of Trends in Immunology.
Forum
TRENDS in Immunology Vol.22 No.9 September 2001
Book Review
You cannot dream of a better start Lymphocyte Development. Cell Selection Events and Signals During Immune Ontogeny by S. Pillai Birkhäuser, 2000. $125.00 hdbk (xi + 528 pages) ISBN 0 8176 3853 9
This is a lovely book. Imagine that you are about to start a PhD on a topic within the field of lymphocyte differentiation. You will want to have state-of-the-art information about the molecular mechanisms of cellfate decisions during early hematopoiesis and the whole developmental process of T-, B- and NK-cells. This book will certainly make you happy. You will have not only a detailed overview of the current literature, but a description of the concepts also, with clarifying illustrations that are readily understandable yet mentally challenging. The book is written by a single author (who did a really stimulating job) and therefore, it is not surprising that the style of the book is homogenous and that each concept is fully developed by references both backwards and forwards throughout the book. Chapters are categorized according to the successive stages of development in the pathways towards the eventual B-, T- and NK-cell phenotypes. They enable the reader to place the theme of each differentiation process within the scope of other themes that will be developed in later chapters and vice versa. The book reads very easily, and if your background knowledge of immunology or cell biology is limited, the author is there to help by describing the essential concepts (e.g. transcription factors, signal transduction, apoptosis, gene rearrangement and the selection process). Nevertheless, even if you are experienced in the field, the current state of knowledge is reviewed in depth and provides a valuable reference source. In this respect, http://immunology.trends.com
this book is unique. It is more in depth than the average text book, but surprisingly easy to understand for beginners. Therefore, I recommend every researcher involved in lymphocyte developmental research to read this book and keep it on their shelf. It will be most inspiring. It will save days of literature searching and guide you to understand the experimental approach in the field. This book is a must-have for every laboratory involved in this research area. How will this book cope with future developments? It is clear that any profound work on these topics will become rapidly outdated and therefore, the relevance of this book can be momentary only. I wonder if the author will have the courage and the time to update the text on a regular basis. One attempt that the author has made is to provide an online update of the 22 tables in the book (http://www. mgh.harvard.edu/depts/cancercenter/ tables.html). These include: the transcription factors implicated in commitment and proliferation early in hematopoiesis; mutations in the genes required for V(D)J recombination; and a summary of the developmental roles of tyrosine kinases linked to antigenreceptor signaling. Also, the author requests that readers inform him of any new, relevant data. I hope that this site will become a forum for investigators in the field and initiate a continuous update of this research topic. Time will tell. For the moment, only a few tables have been updated and most tables are ‘under construction’, which is just another way of saying that they are not available yet. In summary, the book is written for researchers in lymphocyte development, with a focus on murine experimental models. Other animal models are not presented. Clinicians or researchers interested in human immunology will be less satisfied, although there is one relevant topic on naturally occurring disorders of lymphocyte development. I warmly recommend this book to any new investigators in the field of lymphocyte development as well as to the experienced researcher.
Jean Plum Dept of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Ghent University Hospital, University of Ghent, 4BlokA, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Gent, Belgium. e-mail: [email protected]
Overcoming incompatibility Pathology and Immunology of Transplantation and Rejection edited by S. Thiru and H. Waldmann Blackwell Science, 2001. £125.00 hdbk (x + 583 pages) ISBN 0 632 03676 1
For many patients with end-stage renal-, liver- or heart-failure, organ transplantation is the optimal treatment. Currently, the survival rate of solid-organ grafts is ≈85% at one year post-transplantation, and although episodes of acute rejection occur in approximately one-third of patients, these are no longer a common cause of loss of the graft. Nevertheless, major problems and challenges remain to be overcome. Immunosuppressive agents, such as cyclosporin and tacrolimus, which are the mainstay of current immunosuppressive regimens, have had little or no effect on reducing the incidence of chronic rejection, which accounts now for most failures of transplantation. Moreover, nonspecific immunosuppression leaves recipients susceptible to opportunistic infections (e.g. with cytomegalovirus) and at a greatly increased risk of certain types of malignancy, notably lymphoproliferative disease driven by infection with Epstein–Barr virus, and squamous-cell carcinoma of the skin. Also, immunosuppressive agents contribute significantly to cardiovascular disease in transplant recipients, and thiis a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In the not-toodistant future, strategies for inducing donor-specific immunological tolerance
1471-4906/01/$ – see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Forum
might become a clinical reality. However, half a century after Medawar and colleagues first demonstrated the phenomenon of immunological tolerance in experimental animals, the clinical acceptance of grafts remains entirely dependent on the use of nonspecific immunosuppressive agents. An understanding of the relevant immunology and pathology is an important requirement for anyone involved in the care of patients undergoing transplantation and for those undertaking research in the field of transplantation. Books covering these topics fall into two broad categories. Organ-specific books on transplantation, of which there are an increasing number, usually include significant sections on immunopathology as it relates to the particular organ in question. Transplantation immunopathology books, of which there are very few recent examples, provide an overview of the subject as it applies to each of the commonly transplanted solid organs and tissues. Pathology and Immunology of Transplantation and Rejection is the most recent example of the latter category. It is a well-produced book of manageable size, with a number of outstandingly good chapters. This book is somewhat similar in scope to Solid Organ Transplant Rejection1, published five years earlier. Both books provide comprehensive and well-referenced accounts of the basic immunology of transplantation, and experimental and clinical immunosuppression, and the immunopathology of transplantation as it relates to each of the different types of solid-organ transplants. As would be expected, the later chapters in both books include numerous photomicrographs (mostly black and white) to illustrate the relevant histopathology. The contributors to Pathology and Immunology of Transplantation and Rejection are mainly drawn from the UK, whereas the contributors to Solid Organ Transplant Rejection are predominantly North American. Pathology and Immunology of Transplantation and Rejection is somewhat more wide-ranging in that it incorporates chapters on the transplantation of skin, pancreatic islets and corneas, as well as the viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections to which all immunosuppressed transplant recipients are susceptible. http://immunology.trends.com
TRENDS in Immunology Vol.22 No.9 September 2001
The chapters on infection are written from the perspective of the pathologist rather than the clinician; if a detailed account of the diagnosis and management of infection in the transplant recipient were required, the reader would need to consult moreclinically based texts, such as Transplant Infections2. Similarly, any reader seeking a thorough description of the malignant conditions to which transplant patients are susceptible would need to look elsewhere. These are not serious criticisms, and the editors are to be congratulated on having produced a book for which there is a clear requirement. The field is fast moving and already, since the publication of this book, there have been notable achievements. For example, new immunosuppressive agents have moved nearer to clinical use, the Edmonton group have reported success in the transplantation of human pancreatic islets3, pigs have been successfully cloned (opening up new opportunities in xenotransplantation) and the crystal structure of T-cell receptor bound to allogeneic MHC has been determined. These examples are highlighted not by way of criticism of the
525
book but rather, to illustrate the pace of progress. Pathology and Immunology of Transplantation and Rejection is to be strongly recommended to anyone with an interest in transplantation. Surgeons, physicians and pathologists involved in clinical transplantation will all find much of value within its covers, and for scientists undertaking research in the field of clinical or experimental transplantation, the book provides a wellwritten account of the current state of the art. J. Andrew Bradley Dept of Surgery, University of Cambridge Clinical School, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK CB2 2QQ. e-mail: [email protected]
References 1 Solez, K. et al., eds (1996) Solid Organ Transplant Rejection (Mechanisms, Pathology and Diagnosis), Marcel Dekker 2 Bowden, R.A. et al. (1998) Transplant Infections, Lippincott–Raven 3 Shapiro, A.M.J. et al. (2000) Islet transplantation in seven patients with type 1 diabetes using a glucocorticoid free immunosuppressive regimen. New Engl. J. Med. 343, 230–238
Trends in Immunology online High quality printouts (from PDF files) and links to other articles, other journals and cited software and databases. All you have to do is: Obtain your subscription key from the address label of your print subscription Go to http://www.biomednet.com Click on the ‘Claim online access’ button at the bottom of the page When you see the BioMedNet login screen, enter your BioMedNet username and password. If you are not already a member please click on the ‘Join Now’ button and register. You will then be asked to enter your subscription key. Once confirmed you can view the full text of Trends in Immunology.