- Email: [email protected]
Superantigens: A pathogen's view of the immune system
kaleidoscope book reviews implications of nutrient-immune interactions. Since isolated human deficiencies of micronutrients are rare Iwith the exception of iron, vitamin A and zinc), most of the work presented on single nutrient deficiencies derives from animal experiments, with additional information on hum.m deficiencies provided when available. Previousb; most topics of nutrition and immunity have been disease oriented and have been covered under such topics as arthritis, ageing, pulmonaD" disease, gastrointestinal disease, trauma, cancer or malnutrition. Bv contrast, by avoiding disease categorization, this book gives the reader the opportunity to review narrow topics such as vitamin A, carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, vitamin D, fatty acids and human milk. Some excellent contributions included: S.E. Jordan on vitamin D 3 immunoregulation, P. Guiilou on faro acid modification of lymphocFte function, S.N. Meydani on vitamin E and the immune response, E. Lorenz on nutritional interaction for cancer prevention, and vitamin C and phagocytes. Each chapter concentrates on tlae specialized interest of the particu-
Sul.,C~ami~;c.s; A Pathogen's View of the Immune System
lar author. However, although most authors have provided a broad and balanced view of the subject, a few chapters have only used examples from the author's own work. This leads to an unevenness that distracts from some chapters of this multi-authored text. Each chapter begins with an introduction which, because of the multiple authors, is somewhat redundant in several chapters. Instead, an early chapter devoted to the immune system, with figures ~howing where specific nutrients may modulate it, would ha~c been helpful to those who wish to use this as a textbook. However, all chapters end with a summary that will provide an excellent overview to those readers not interested in the detailed experiments described before. The book is adequately referenced, although the latest references are from 1991. Despite some weak chapters, the book is generally easy to read and provides an appropriate mix of nutritional and immunological detail ~,,r an overview of these two areas. In particular, this text should provide a valuable source of information for those who are skeptical of the degree to which the immune
UIi
edited by Brigitte T.. Huber and Ed Pah.le~, Cold Spring Harbor I aborator3, Press, 1993. $', ~.00 (i:: ~ 182 pages) ISBN 0 87969 398 3 Superantigens (SAgs)provide extraordinary models with which to study mechanisms of the hostpathogen relationship during severe infectious pathology, as well as to study the fundamental mechanisms of tolerance induction. The growing interest shown in SAgs has resulted in the publication of thousands of articles in recent years. This book, part of the Current Communications in Cell and Molecular Biology series, was compiled following a meeting to discuss SAgs in Autumn i992. Fortunately, this is not a conference proceedings, but represents a good selection of articles
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this meeting. The book concentrates mainly on viral SAgs, including those implicated in human pathology. Although the first chapter is the only one dealing with bacterial SAgs, it enables the reader to understand this topic and to compare it with what is known concerning the recognition of viral SAgs. The originality of the book lies in its focus oll the role of viral SAgs in pathology, and its emphasis on the extreme complexity of the host-pathogen relationship. In particular, the role of viral SAgs as a protective system to avoid viral reinfection by induction of clonal deletion of the target cells, and their role as a permissive system used to amplify virus infection, are clearly explained. The list of authors is not too similar to other review books published on the same subject. Furthermore, some new topics have been
Immunology Today 6 0 0
system and nutrients interact. Indeed, the authors do not fail to present the contradictory results that can be obtained from different animal models, as well as the dose dependency of the response. The topics covered are extremely important to the general public although, in extrapolating to the application of these studies to nutrient recommendation, the text has been rather guarded. Nonetheless, the book will have served a useful purpose if it is used as a starting point for further research in this field. Hopefully, some of the unanswered questions raised in the text will soon be answered using molecular and genetic methodologies. I would recommend this text as a starting point for those interested in developing strategies, at both the clinical and basic level, to optimize nutrient-immune function interactions.
Howard Parsons Gastrointestinal Research Group, Dept of Pediatrics, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive N. W.., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1.
-'-- -I.A - 3 IIII.IUU~'U,
.... L ~Ul..II
- it~
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icity of rabies virus, as well as a revisiting of old topics, such as mouse mammary tumour virus (MMTV)-encoded SAgs in B-cell lymphoma in SJL mice. The last words have been given to the role of viral SAgs in the development of immunodeficiency syndromes such as mouse and hi-:man AIDS, which of course are burning issues. It is tempting to draw a model for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection paralleling that of MMTV infection, since both viruses use their SAgs as a tool for replication and expansion within the host. This part of the book may have benefited from being more controversial.
rot. 15 No. !2 1994
Martine Papiernik INSERM U345, Institut Necker, 156 rue de Vaugirard, 75730 Paris CMex 15, France.
Sul.,C~ami~;c.s; A Pathogen's View of the Immune System
lar author. However, although most authors have provided a broad and balanced view of the subject, a few chapters have only used examples from the author's own work. This leads to an unevenness that distracts from some chapters of this multi-authored text. Each chapter begins with an introduction which, because of the multiple authors, is somewhat redundant in several chapters. Instead, an early chapter devoted to the immune system, with figures ~howing where specific nutrients may modulate it, would ha~c been helpful to those who wish to use this as a textbook. However, all chapters end with a summary that will provide an excellent overview to those readers not interested in the detailed experiments described before. The book is adequately referenced, although the latest references are from 1991. Despite some weak chapters, the book is generally easy to read and provides an appropriate mix of nutritional and immunological detail ~,,r an overview of these two areas. In particular, this text should provide a valuable source of information for those who are skeptical of the degree to which the immune
UIi
edited by Brigitte T.. Huber and Ed Pah.le~, Cold Spring Harbor I aborator3, Press, 1993. $', ~.00 (i:: ~ 182 pages) ISBN 0 87969 398 3 Superantigens (SAgs)provide extraordinary models with which to study mechanisms of the hostpathogen relationship during severe infectious pathology, as well as to study the fundamental mechanisms of tolerance induction. The growing interest shown in SAgs has resulted in the publication of thousands of articles in recent years. This book, part of the Current Communications in Cell and Molecular Biology series, was compiled following a meeting to discuss SAgs in Autumn i992. Fortunately, this is not a conference proceedings, but represents a good selection of articles
tll~"
llldill
II~VV
"~--"--
J-" .......
J
-~
this meeting. The book concentrates mainly on viral SAgs, including those implicated in human pathology. Although the first chapter is the only one dealing with bacterial SAgs, it enables the reader to understand this topic and to compare it with what is known concerning the recognition of viral SAgs. The originality of the book lies in its focus oll the role of viral SAgs in pathology, and its emphasis on the extreme complexity of the host-pathogen relationship. In particular, the role of viral SAgs as a protective system to avoid viral reinfection by induction of clonal deletion of the target cells, and their role as a permissive system used to amplify virus infection, are clearly explained. The list of authors is not too similar to other review books published on the same subject. Furthermore, some new topics have been
Immunology Today 6 0 0
system and nutrients interact. Indeed, the authors do not fail to present the contradictory results that can be obtained from different animal models, as well as the dose dependency of the response. The topics covered are extremely important to the general public although, in extrapolating to the application of these studies to nutrient recommendation, the text has been rather guarded. Nonetheless, the book will have served a useful purpose if it is used as a starting point for further research in this field. Hopefully, some of the unanswered questions raised in the text will soon be answered using molecular and genetic methodologies. I would recommend this text as a starting point for those interested in developing strategies, at both the clinical and basic level, to optimize nutrient-immune function interactions.
Howard Parsons Gastrointestinal Research Group, Dept of Pediatrics, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive N. W.., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1.
-'-- -I.A - 3 IIII.IUU~'U,
.... L ~Ul..II
- it~
~k . . . . . . . . . . -' - - - - tll~' ~ u p ~ [ H l l i l ~ l l "
icity of rabies virus, as well as a revisiting of old topics, such as mouse mammary tumour virus (MMTV)-encoded SAgs in B-cell lymphoma in SJL mice. The last words have been given to the role of viral SAgs in the development of immunodeficiency syndromes such as mouse and hi-:man AIDS, which of course are burning issues. It is tempting to draw a model for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection paralleling that of MMTV infection, since both viruses use their SAgs as a tool for replication and expansion within the host. This part of the book may have benefited from being more controversial.
rot. 15 No. !2 1994
Martine Papiernik INSERM U345, Institut Necker, 156 rue de Vaugirard, 75730 Paris CMex 15, France.