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Enzyme ImmunoassaysmFrom Concept to Product Development by S S Deshpande. pp 464. C h a p m a n & Hall, London. 1996 ISBN 0-412-0560101 The author has to be commended for organising the twelve chapters so well. There are two parts to the book--the first part deals with basic considerations and the second with product development. The book begins with an impressive introduction, highlighting the primary aim of writing this book, which is to provide useful practical information for the development of a successful immunodiagnostic product based on enzyme immunoassay technology. The structure of antibodies, their function and their classification form the contents of the second chapter. Classification of the antigen-antibody reactions, the intermolecular forces involved in them, specificity and cross reactivity and their quantitation form the contents of the third chapter. The fourth chapter discusses the conjugation techniques, the chemical modification of functional groups, use of cross-linking reagents for protein conjugation and their practical aspects. The fifth chapter gives details of antibody production--preparation of immunogen, immunisation procedures, purification and storage are covered. The sixth chapter forms the main thrust of the book--it highlights the use of enzymes as immunoassay labels. The seventh chapter covers separation methods. They include chromatoelectrophoresis, chemical/fractional precipitation, adsorption, etc. The second part (with five chapters) covers product development. Here one learns of the classification of immunoassays, assay development, evaluation, validation, reagent formulations and data analysis. Quality control is an integral part of any immunoassay. Details about ISO 900 series standards are very clearly explained. Biochemists, immunologists and others undertaking immunology work (commercial or otherwise) should find this a useful book. U Anand and C V Anand

Introductory Immunobiology by H u w Davies. Pp 394. C h a p m a n & Hall, London. 1996. £24.99 ISBN-0-412-37240-1 The subject of Immunology is very well provided with a number of excellent textbooks which are regularly updated: Essential Immunology (Roitt), Immunology (Roitt, Brostoff and Male) and Immunology (Kuby) and several good foundation texts already serve the market very adequately. New Immunology texts have, therefore, to fill a niche with is underprovided and Introductory Immunobiology has attempted to do just that by studying the subject from a comparative viewpoint. Although the book concentrates on mammalian immunology, comparisons with other vertebrates as well as non-vertebrates are found throughout and this is indeed a laudable approach. The layout of the book is unusual and lacks the discrete structural framework of most texts in immunology. The author suggests that his approach is less fragmentary and obviates the need for a 'pre-existing conceptual framework' though I would not necessarily agree with him on this point. The book begins with a general discussion of the nature of defence against pathogens and covers various effector mechanisms including phagocytosis, complement and inflammation. Several chapters are devoted to aspects of the recognition of non-self, including the nature of the innate and adaptive immune mechanisms, antigen receptors, and the Major Histocompatibility Complex. In addition, there are chapters dealing with the cells and tissues of immune systems, on the evolution of the adaptive immune system signals and control and on tolerance. This approach is interesting and

BIOCHEMICAL EDUCATION 25(3) 1997

certainly novel and the comparative stance given to each chapter works well, though some topics obviously lend themselves to this more than others. Each chapter comes with the now familiar format of text with marginal notes, boxes and end of chapter review questions. There is an additional glossary and appendices on CD molecules and immunoassays. While applauding the general approach of the book, I am concerned about its claims to be an introductory (foundation) text 'written for students.., encountering immunology for the first time as part of a broader course of study'. Such students would find this book rather difficult to cope with. In addition, there are a number of very complex diagrams which are difficult to understand, some of doubtful use to a foundation audience (why print a complete list of human MHC alleles for example?) and some with inadequate explanation. In short, while there is much to praise about this book, it seems to be trying to do too much and loses sight of its target audience in the process. Maureen M Dawson

Exquisite Specificity--The Monoclonal Antibody Revolution by Alberto Cambrosio and Peter Keting. Pp 243. Oxford University Press. 1995. £46.95 ISBN 0-19-509741-6 This book looks at the monoclonal antibody story from the perspective of sociologists and historians. As such it should appeal both to practising research scientists and to sociologists, philosophers and anthropologists who want a good example of a scientific story to study. Some important words in common currency to describe scientific research such as fact, technique, invention, discovery and know how are examined closely and new light is thrown on their utility and meaning. To a scientist who has studied no sociology, the volume may at first appear to be one to dip into. It chronicles the discovery (or invention?) of monoclonal antibodies from the early 1970s to the present day, introduces most of the main players and tells interesting stories. The scientist might only want to pick bits out at first because the sociology may seem a little obtuse. However, once in to reading this work, the sociologists' language begins to make sense and puts a new perspective both on the subject of this book and on the scientist's own work. I don't know if sociologists will find this to be a good example: they probably will. To me, personal details seem to be missing--some flesh on the bones of the characters involved. However, I expect that's deliberate. This is a serious volume. Susan Bright

Stress-inducible Cellular Responses Edited by U Feize, R I Morimoto, ! Yahara and B S Polla. pp 492. Birkhfiuser Verlag, Basel [hhtp://www.birkhauser. ch]. 1996. SFr 178 ISBN 3-7643-5205-1 Ever since living organisms evolved on earth, they have been exposed to environments which altered, sometimes gradually, sometimes rapidly. Adaptation to slow change is by mutation/ natural selection, but the need to cope with rapid change has led to the evolution of the Stress Response. This was originally reported as a response to small temperature change, the heat shock response in Drosophila (1962), but the production of stress or heat shock proteins has subsequently been shown to be a response of all cells. This response can be induced quickly and repeatedly. This book updates us on many aspects of the Stress Response in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, with reference to molecular chaperones or 'molecular undertakers' as one author thinks more appropriate (see p 73), cell signalling and the cell cycle and

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Essays in Biochemistry Volume 31

sion on retinoic acid or the plethora of cellular binding proteins and nuclear receptors for this important regulator. Each contribution is clearly presented and includes a comprehensive reference list at its end. I found the list of abbreviations at the beginning of the book extremely useful. Diagrams are an absolute necessity to follow what is being discussed in the text and these are on the whole very well reproduced. A little colour in many of them in place of the various degrees and patterns of grey shading would have helped clarify many but of course would have increased the price of this extremely informative volume. The sheer complexity of transcriptional regulation can make the subject difficult and this book will find favour among both students seeking knowledge and those wishing to elucidate their current understanding of this field. Gary J Hunter

Edited by D K Apps. pp 125. Portland Press, London. 1996, £17.50 I S B N 1-85578-019-4

Gene Probes 2

apoptosis, disease and autoantibodies, ageing and applications. The chapters are by different authors and are collected together in sections with brief Introductions. These sections are: Functions of Stress Protein in Unstressed Cells; Regulation of Inducible Stress Responses; Cellular Responses to Specific Stresses; Paradigms for Complex Stress Responses and Applications of Stress Responses in Toxicology and Pharmacology. This text will appeal to many different groups, including protein folders and immunologists. It is not really an undergraduate text, but would provide good material for lecturers. Its main use will be for researchers to fill in backgrounds and get up to date with this important area. D R Daniel

There are nine chapters in this volume. The first chapter is on assessment of human diversity and expression patterns using expressed sequence tags. For the purposes of cataloguing genes, often only a small portion of an entire mRNA sequence is sufficient to provide an identification for the gene from which mRNA was derived. Hence, a short-cut to the identification of the majority of human genes has been developed, generating partial mRNA sequences called expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Production of ESTs, their use for the identification of gene homologues and their chromosomal mapping are covered in this chapter. The second chapter covers some aspects of the Genome Project. I found the chapter on 11 fl-hydroxy steroid dehydrogenase (11 fl-HSD) to be quite interesting, wherein the authors have discussed the syndrome of apparent mineralocorticoid excess. Mutations in the gene 11 ~-HSD2 have been identified as the cause of this syndrome. The other chapters cover peptide synthesis without translation, cell adhesion of the immunoglobulin superfamily in the nervous system, membrane proteins with multiple topological orientations, and a thermosynthesis model for the origin of life. The authors have provided the latest references in their respective chapters. C V Anand

Eukaryotic Gene Transcription Edited by Stephen G o o d b o u r n . pp 292. Oxford University Press. 1996 I S B N 0-19-963486-6 (Pbk) Eukaryotic Gene Transcription is volume 12 in the Frontiers in Molecular Biology series of books (Edited by B D Hames and D M Glover) which now includes some 16 titles. This particular volume has brought together the insights of 17 researchers who have contributed to the 9 chapters spanning the subject of transcription and transcriptional control in eukaryotes. The basics of the RNA polymerase transcriptional machinery are presented clearly in chapter 1 which includes sections on the now familiar TATA-binding protein (TBP) and TBP-associated factors as well as the general initiation factors (TFIIs). Special attention is given to these as targets for transcriptional activators. The role of histones and hence chromatin is covered in chapter 2 and other major topics dealt with include signal transduction mechanisms (the cyclic AMP response element modulator, CREM, in chapter 3), developmental regulation (Rel proteins in chapter 4, multifactorial models in chapter 5, homeodomain proteins in chapter 6 and skeletal myogenesis in chapter 7) and the cell cycle (both in yeasts and mammalian cells in chapter 8). The final chapter is devoted to the Tat protein and its control of transcriptional elongation during the replication of human immunodeficiency virus. Perhaps surprisingly I found no discus-

BIOCHEMICAL EDUCATION 25(3) 1997

A Practical Approach

Edited by B D H a m e s and S J Higgins. pp 419. Oxford University Press. 1995. £32.50 I S B N 0-19-963612-5 (Pbk) The technique of nucleic acid hybridisation has found a wide range of uses throughout the spectrum of molecular biology and the methodologies employed have become extremely sophisticated in recent years. A previous volume in the ever-expanding practical approach series (edited by D Rickwood and B D Hames) which was concerned with this technique has now been essentially replaced by a two volume pair, Gene Probes 1 and Gene Probes 2. The former addresses the preparation of gene probes while the latter concentrates on their application. Although nucleic acid hybridisation is a standard tool, it is not the only way to study and analyse gene structure and expression. Gene Probes 2 also covers other methods in detail. Furthermore, genetic manipulation is also high on the agenda of this volume. At the beginning is a clear analysis of hybridisation theory with explanations of the effects of various factors on hybridisation rate, stability and stringency. Usefully included is attention to mismatched and repeated sequences and also to the use of oligonucleotide mixtures as probes. Taking these into consideration, chapter 1 gives an overview and helps one to decide on a particular hybridisation strategy to apply experimentally. The screening of DNA libraries is often a time-consuming process which can not be completely circumvented by the use of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the techniques for producing and screening libraries is given in chapters 2, 3 and 4. The latter gives a detailed account of the use of antibodies to screen expression libraries using bacterial vectors utilising both bateriophage plaques and bacterial colonies. Bacteriophage lambda and M13 are covered in chapter 2 while chapter 3 includes the use of yeast artificial chromosomes (YAC), bacteriophage P1, cosmids and cDNA libraries. The use of PCR as a tool for screening libraries is also covered in chapter 2. Practical considerations such as choice of membrane filter are usefully included. The direct expression of cDNAs in mammalian cells as a means to the isolation of specific sequences is dealt with in chapter 5 and includes details for both autoradiographic and immunological detection. Much of the rest of this volume is concerned more with the analysis of expression rather than the isolation of particular DNAs. Genomic mapping, Southern blotting and RNA analysis (including primer extension and S1 nuclease mapping) are the subjects of chapter 6 while Northern blotting and ribonuclease protection assay (which is fast becoming the preferred method for RNA analysis) are considered in chapter 7. This chapter also details the uses of Western blotting for examining gene expression. Another technique to examine RNA transcripts based on PCR (reverse