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The theory and practical application of adjuvants
ELSEVIER
Virus Research 39 (1995) 385-386
Virus Research
Book reviews The Theory and Practical Application of Adjuvants. Edited by Duncan E.S. Stewart-Tull. John Wiley, Chichester, UK. ISBN 04 1951706. Price £50.00. Many of us who make regular use of adjuvants will probably admit that our understanding of their use is in many cases empirical; this works, that doesn't, this is a good route, etc.. The opening sentence of the preface of Dr. Stewart-Tull's interesting book grabs the reader's attention by explicitly recognizing this situation: 'During the past few years I have received many queries from researcher workers and vaccinologists with little knowledge of adjuvants... '. This book is consequently intended to provide a measure of background understanding of the classical and more established adjuvants. As with all multi-author volumes the quality of the chapters fluctuates, but the overall quality is high. The book comprises sixteen chapters, fifteen of which deal with specific adjuvants or families of adjuvants and one of which describes adjuvants for AIDS vaccines. Adjuvants covered include Freund-type mineral-oil emulsions, aluminum adsorbents, various lipids, saponins, liposomes, ISCOMs, MDP and E. coli heat-labile enterotoxin. Surprisingly, there is no chapter on cholera toxin, which now seems to be found in almost all immunology laboratory refrigerators and would have seemed an obvious candidate for inclusion in a book of this kind. Most chapters provide a good basic review of their chosen subject, including history of use, chemical composition, and some consideration of biological and immunological properties such as toxicity and cytokine induction. Many go beyond this to provide, for example, basic protocols for preparing and using particular adjuvants or more detailed considerations of toxicity and adverse effects. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on saponins, which made an interesting detour to cover the medicinal properties of ginseng and liquorice roots. Not included in the scope of the book, at least partially by design, are a range of newer or less well established adjuvants, and antigen delivery systems such as biodegradable microspheres which serve to protect and target antigen within the body. I would have particularly liked to see a chapter on the adjuvant activity of cytokines, but to be fair this subject needs a book to itself. To the editor's credit, the book successfully carries out the stated intention of providing a background understanding of many commonly used adjuvants. Many researchers with a need to immunise animals (or humans) may not have a strong background in the immunological, biological or chemical properties of 0168-1702/95/$09.50 © 1995 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
386
Book review
adjuvants. This would probably include not only most graduate students but also many more experienced researchers with backgrounds in disciplines such as molecular genetics, virology or bacteriology. What do you do when faced with a need not just to raise antibodies but to efficiently direct the immune response in a desired direction? Similarly, individuals involved in the regulation and testing of vaccines may often find it useful to have a better understanding of the adjuvants in those vaccines. This book won't provide all the answers but it does provide an excellent place to start looking, and every laboratory and office with an interest in vaccines or immunization should keep a copy available. Andrew Murdin, Connaugt Laboratories, Ontario, Canada Immunology of Infection. Edited by J.G.P. Sissons, L.K. Borysiewicz and J. Cohen. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. ISBN 0 7923 8968 9. Price: $93.00/Dfl. 145.00/£60.00. This book is part of the Immunology and Medicine series, which attempts to present information on various immunologic issues related to microbial infection. The basic understanding of the relationship between the immune system and infectious microbial agents has been broadly covered, with topics covering bacterial, fungal and viral infection. However, there is no discussion of parasitic infections, which the Editors plan to cover in a separate volume. Overall most of the chapters are well organized and concise. The chapters dealing with the immunology and immunopathology of bacterial and fungal infection are fairly comprehensive and well referenced. The description and terminology has also been kept simple, and adequate flow chart illustrations have been provided for better understanding of the issues. However, it is unfortunate that immune responses to viral infections have not adequately addressed any of the issues related to immune recognition, cellular activation, and host defense mechanism. The immune responses to viruses has been one of the best studied areas for the immunologist, virologist, as well as the vaccinologist, yet the two chapters dealing with the immune response to viral infection and immunology and pathogenesis of persistent viral infections are very superficial. The third chapter on immunopathology of HIV infection was the only chapter that comprehensively covered the HIV infection. The last chapter in the series, dealing with the current and future prospects for vaccines, nicely wrapped up the different strategies of vaccine development for different viral infections. It should be a useful reference book for clinicians and infectious disease specialists for basic understanding of how infectious microbial agents (especially bacterial and fungal) invade the immune system and what deleterious effects they exert. Whilst this series would be a useful addition for understanding of bacterial and fungal infections, it would not be a good choice for viral infections. Renu Lal, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
Virus Research 39 (1995) 385-386
Virus Research
Book reviews The Theory and Practical Application of Adjuvants. Edited by Duncan E.S. Stewart-Tull. John Wiley, Chichester, UK. ISBN 04 1951706. Price £50.00. Many of us who make regular use of adjuvants will probably admit that our understanding of their use is in many cases empirical; this works, that doesn't, this is a good route, etc.. The opening sentence of the preface of Dr. Stewart-Tull's interesting book grabs the reader's attention by explicitly recognizing this situation: 'During the past few years I have received many queries from researcher workers and vaccinologists with little knowledge of adjuvants... '. This book is consequently intended to provide a measure of background understanding of the classical and more established adjuvants. As with all multi-author volumes the quality of the chapters fluctuates, but the overall quality is high. The book comprises sixteen chapters, fifteen of which deal with specific adjuvants or families of adjuvants and one of which describes adjuvants for AIDS vaccines. Adjuvants covered include Freund-type mineral-oil emulsions, aluminum adsorbents, various lipids, saponins, liposomes, ISCOMs, MDP and E. coli heat-labile enterotoxin. Surprisingly, there is no chapter on cholera toxin, which now seems to be found in almost all immunology laboratory refrigerators and would have seemed an obvious candidate for inclusion in a book of this kind. Most chapters provide a good basic review of their chosen subject, including history of use, chemical composition, and some consideration of biological and immunological properties such as toxicity and cytokine induction. Many go beyond this to provide, for example, basic protocols for preparing and using particular adjuvants or more detailed considerations of toxicity and adverse effects. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on saponins, which made an interesting detour to cover the medicinal properties of ginseng and liquorice roots. Not included in the scope of the book, at least partially by design, are a range of newer or less well established adjuvants, and antigen delivery systems such as biodegradable microspheres which serve to protect and target antigen within the body. I would have particularly liked to see a chapter on the adjuvant activity of cytokines, but to be fair this subject needs a book to itself. To the editor's credit, the book successfully carries out the stated intention of providing a background understanding of many commonly used adjuvants. Many researchers with a need to immunise animals (or humans) may not have a strong background in the immunological, biological or chemical properties of 0168-1702/95/$09.50 © 1995 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
386
Book review
adjuvants. This would probably include not only most graduate students but also many more experienced researchers with backgrounds in disciplines such as molecular genetics, virology or bacteriology. What do you do when faced with a need not just to raise antibodies but to efficiently direct the immune response in a desired direction? Similarly, individuals involved in the regulation and testing of vaccines may often find it useful to have a better understanding of the adjuvants in those vaccines. This book won't provide all the answers but it does provide an excellent place to start looking, and every laboratory and office with an interest in vaccines or immunization should keep a copy available. Andrew Murdin, Connaugt Laboratories, Ontario, Canada Immunology of Infection. Edited by J.G.P. Sissons, L.K. Borysiewicz and J. Cohen. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. ISBN 0 7923 8968 9. Price: $93.00/Dfl. 145.00/£60.00. This book is part of the Immunology and Medicine series, which attempts to present information on various immunologic issues related to microbial infection. The basic understanding of the relationship between the immune system and infectious microbial agents has been broadly covered, with topics covering bacterial, fungal and viral infection. However, there is no discussion of parasitic infections, which the Editors plan to cover in a separate volume. Overall most of the chapters are well organized and concise. The chapters dealing with the immunology and immunopathology of bacterial and fungal infection are fairly comprehensive and well referenced. The description and terminology has also been kept simple, and adequate flow chart illustrations have been provided for better understanding of the issues. However, it is unfortunate that immune responses to viral infections have not adequately addressed any of the issues related to immune recognition, cellular activation, and host defense mechanism. The immune responses to viruses has been one of the best studied areas for the immunologist, virologist, as well as the vaccinologist, yet the two chapters dealing with the immune response to viral infection and immunology and pathogenesis of persistent viral infections are very superficial. The third chapter on immunopathology of HIV infection was the only chapter that comprehensively covered the HIV infection. The last chapter in the series, dealing with the current and future prospects for vaccines, nicely wrapped up the different strategies of vaccine development for different viral infections. It should be a useful reference book for clinicians and infectious disease specialists for basic understanding of how infectious microbial agents (especially bacterial and fungal) invade the immune system and what deleterious effects they exert. Whilst this series would be a useful addition for understanding of bacterial and fungal infections, it would not be a good choice for viral infections. Renu Lal, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA