A remarkable spectrum of novel immunoreceptors sharing related immunoglobulin-like domains and signaling potential has been identified in recent years. These receptors have attracted widespread interest because they resemble the TCR, BCR, and FcR complexes in their ability to serve as activating or inhibitory receptors on the cells that bear them. Moreover, they are well positioned to affect both innate and adaptive immunity. The full range of ligands for these new receptor families is still not known, and understanding of their physiological roles is far from complete. This volume is the first attempt to summarize and highlight all known aspects of immunoglobulin-like receptors, providing a topical overview of the roles and characteristic features of the immunoglobulin-like receptors and related molecules in the immune system. Researchers in immunology, molecular biology, cell biology, clinical medicine, and pharmacology will find this book invaluable.

This book is devoted to innovative medicine, comprising the proceedings of the Uehara Memorial Foundation Symposium 2014. It remains extremely rare for the findings of basic research to be developed into clinical applications, and it takes a long time for the process to be achieved. The task of advancing the development of basic research into clinical reality lies with translational science, yet the field seems to struggle to find a way to move forward. To create innovative medical technology, many steps need to be taken: development and analysis of optimal animal models of human diseases, elucidation of genomic and epidemiological data, and establishment of “proof of concept”. There is also considerable demand for progress in drug research, new surgical procedures, and new clinical devices and equipment. While the original research target may be rare diseases, it is also important to apply those findings more broadly to common diseases. The book covers a wide range of topics and is organized into three complementary parts. The first part is basic research for innovative medicine, the second is translational research for innovative medicine, and the third is new technology for innovative medicine. This book helps to understand innovative medicine and to make progress in its realization.

A successful vaccine for the prevention and/or immunotherapy against HIV/AIDS is one of the prominent challenges of the 21st century. To date, all human vaccine trials against this virus/disease have resulted in failure, or at best have shown very low efficacy. The scientific community dealing with HIV/AIDS has unanimously proposed a focus on basic science, with the intention of identifying correlates of protection that can serve as guides in developing and evaluating vaccine preparation. However, Nature seems to have already found several ways of dealing with infections by HIV and related primate lentiviruses, either by resisting infection or, once infected, avoiding immune damage and immunodeficiency. Models of Protection Against HIV/SIV will allow for an in-depth reflection on the perspectives for vaccine and therapy research derived from important recent studies. It will be authored by some of the most well known specialists in the field of HIV resistance/protection: including F. Barré-Sinoussi (2008 Nobel Prize for Medicine winner), B. Walker, S. Rowland-Jones, A. Telenti, M. Lederman and F. Plummer. This book is structured in a unique way, looking at three models of resistance/protection separately and then comparing the models against one another to provide its readership with a detailed examination of the research that is most predominant in the search for a vaccine. This structure presents the information in an easy-to-understand format and gives the book a cross-discipline appeal -- an important reference for those in the scientific community, medical care, public health and academia alike. Provides extensive descriptions and comparisons on the different models of protection agains HIV/AIDS Comprehensive writing and illustrations Contributors are among the most eminent specialists in the field

Overall recent research on TLRs has led to tremendous increase in our understanding of early steps in pathogen recognition and will presumably lead to potent TLR targeting therapeutics in the future. This book reviews and highlights our recent understanding on the function and ligands of TLRs as well as their role in autoimmunity, dendritic cell activation and target structures for therapeutic intervention.

Natural killer (NK) cells express many newly identified activating and inhibitory receptors that upon engagement by cognate ligands on target tumor cells regulate NK cell antitumor activity. Recently, several paired NK cell receptor families that include receptors with similar binding specificities but opposite function have been defined. The expression of most important activating receptors, natural killer group 2D (NKG2D), natural cytotoxic receptors (NCR), DNAX accessory molecule-1 (DNAM1) and activating killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KAR) is often decreased, while the expression of most prominent inhibitory NK cell receptors, killer cell inhibitory immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) and CD94/NKG2A, may occasionally be increased in malignancies. These data indicate that impaired NK cell antitumor response results from NK cell receptor alterations induced by suppressive factors in the tumor microenvironment, including cytokines, growth factors, enzymes and metabolites, as well as by chronic NK cell receptor engagement by the tumor. The established alterations in NK cell receptor expression in cancer patients represent potential disease biomarkers and may aid in choosing therapies that upregulate activating or block inhibitory receptor function. Accumulating knowledge of NK cell biology has been helpful in creating novel therapeutic approaches that by release from tumor-influenced immunosuppression potentiate NK cell activity in cancer patients.

The second edition of Avian Immunology provides an up-to-date overview of the current knowledge of avian immunology. From the ontogeny of the avian immune system to practical application in vaccinology, the book encompasses all aspects of innate and adaptive immunity in chickens. In addition, chapters are devoted to the immunology of other commercially important species such as turkeys and ducks, and to ecoimmunology summarizing the knowledge of immune responses in free-living birds often in relation to reproductive success. The book contains a detailed description of the avian innate immune system, encompassing the mucosal, enteric, respiratory and reproductive systems. The diseases and disorders it covers include immunodepressive diseases and immune evasion, autoimmune diseases, and tumors of the immune system. Practical aspects of vaccination are examined as well. Extensive appendices summarize resources for scientists including cell lines, inbred chicken lines, cytokines, chemokines, and monoclonal antibodies. The world-wide importance of poultry protein for the human diet, as well as the threat of avian influenza pandemics like H5N1 and heavy reliance on vaccination to protect commercial flocks makes this book a vital resource. This book provides crucial information not only for poultry health professionals and avian biologists, but also for comparative and veterinary immunologists, graduate students and veterinary students with an interest in avian immunology. - With contributions from 33 of the foremost international experts in the field, this book provides the most up-to-date review of avian immunology so far - Contains a detailed description of the avian innate immune system reviewing constitutive barriers, chemical and cellular responses; it includes a comprehensive review of avian Toll-like receptors - Contains a wide-ranging review of the "ecoimmunology" of free-living avian species, as applied to studies of population dynamics, and reviews methods and resources available for carrying out such research

Natural Killer (NK) cells are a unique subset of lymphocytes genetically programmed to locate and destroy cellular malignancies. They accomplish this through unique cell surface receptors that, upon contacting a target cell, transmit either inhibitory or activating intracellular signals, ultimately determining whether the target cell will be killed or spared. Acquisition of the capacity to kill comes only after the NK cell is rendered tolerant to healthy self cells through interaction with naturally expressed MHC I molecules. The resulting functional NK cell is endowed with both repressive and stimulatory receptors that recognize MHC I or MHC I-related proteins, and stress-induced proteins that are not normally expressed by healthy cells, respectively. The respective signaling pathways are generally conserved among receptors; consequently, mechanisms that dysregulate NK-cell surface receptor density may directly impair NK responsiveness towards cancerous cells by affecting the ratio of inhibitory-to-activating signals. Furthermore, activating receptors can be downregulated, suggesting a targeted evasion strategy that specifically converts the NK cell towards an inhibitory phenotype.