The microcirculation is highly responsive to, and a vital participant in, the inflammatory response. All segments of the microvasculature (arterioles, capillaries, and venules) exhibit characteristic phenotypic changes during inflammation that appear to be directed toward enhancing the delivery of inflammatory cells to the injured/infected tissue, isolating the region from healthy tissue and the systemic circulation, and setting the stage for tissue repair and regeneration. The best characterized responses of the microcirculation to inflammation include impaired vasomotor function, reduced capillary perfusion, adhesion of leukocytes and platelets, activation of the coagulation cascade, and enhanced thrombosis, increased vascular permeability, and an increase in the rate of proliferation of blood and lymphatic vessels. A variety of cells that normally circulate in blood (leukocytes, platelets) or reside within the vessel wall (endothelial cells, pericytes) or in the perivascular space (mast cells, macrophages) are activated in response to inflammation. The activation products and chemical mediators released from these cells act through different well-characterized signaling pathways to induce the phenotypic changes in microvessel function that accompany inflammation. Drugs that target a specific microvascular response to inflammation, such as leukocyte-endothelial cell adhesion or angiogenesis, have shown promise in both the preclinical and clinical studies of inflammatory disease. Future research efforts in this area will likely identify new avenues for therapeutic intervention in inflammation. Table of Contents: Introduction / Historical Perspectives / Anatomical Considerations / Impaired Vasomotor Responses / Capillary Perfusion / Angiogenesis / Leukocyte-Endothelial Cell Adhesion / Platelet-Vessel Wall Interactions / Coagulation and Thrombosis / Endothelial Barrier Dysfunction / Epilogue / References

This volume gives a comprehensive overview on the most relevant leukocyte and endothelial adhesion molecules. The chapters are written by leaders in the field and focus on the biology, structure, function, and regulation of adhesion molecules. Currently approved adhesion molecule-based therapies are reviewed and an outlook for future approaches is also provided. The book is of interest to clinicians and scientists from immunology, physiology, cancer research, rheumatology, allergology, infectious diseases, gastroenterology, pulmonology and cardiology.

Inflammatory cell recruitment requires the concerted action of at least five major sets of adhesion molecules: integrins, immunoglobulin-like molecules, selectins, carbohydrate structures serving as selectin ligands, and certain ectoenzymes. This volume gives a comprehensive overview on the most relevant leukocyte and endothelial adhesion molecules. The chapters are written by leaders in the field and focus on the biology, structure, function, and regulation of adhesion molecules. Currently approved adhesion molecule-based therapies are reviewed and an outlook for future approaches is also provided. The book is of interest to clinicians and scientists from immunology, physiology, cancer research, rheumatology, allergology, infectious diseases, gastroenterology, pulmonology and cardiology.

This updated and expanded Second Edition of The Adhesion Molecule FactsBook has nearly double the number of entries of the First Edition, and provides a compendium of the major cell surface adhesion molecules. The introductory chapters detail the organization of the data in the entries section, provide a background to the main adhesion molecule families, and inform the reader how to access information on adhesion molecules on the Internet. The entries have been designed to allow the reader to quickly establish the main structure and functional features of each molecule and where to find information. - Alternative nomenclature - Tissue distribution and regulation of expression - Ligands - Gene organization and chromosomal location - Protein structure and molecular weights - Amino acid sequence of the most commonly studied organisms - PIR, SWISSPROT, and EMBL/GenBank accession numbers - Biological function - Key references

This comprehensive encyclopedic reference provides rapid access to focused information on topics of cancer research for clinicians, research scientists and advanced students. Given the overwhelming success of the first edition, which appeared in 2001, and fast development in the different fields of cancer research, it has been decided to publish a second fully revised and expanded edition. With an A-Z format of over 7,000 entries, more than 1,000 contributing authors provide a complete reference to cancer. The merging of different basic and clinical scientific disciplines towards the common goal of fighting cancer makes such a comprehensive reference source all the more timely.

The endothelium, a monolayer of endothelial cells, constitutes the inner cellular lining of the blood vessels (arteries, veins and capillaries) and the lymphatic system, and therefore is in direct contact with the blood/lymph and the circulating cells. The endothelium is a major player in the control of blood fluidity, platelet aggregation and vascular tone, a major actor in the regulation of immunology, inflammation and angiogenesis, and an important metabolizing and an endocrine organ. Endothelial cells controls vascular tone, and thereby blood flow, by synthesizing and releasing relaxing and contracting factors such as nitric oxide, metabolites of arachidonic acid via the cyclooxygenases, lipoxygenases and cytochrome P450 pathways, various peptides (endothelin, urotensin, CNP, adrenomedullin, etc.), adenosine, purines, reactive oxygen species and so on. Additionally, endothelial ectoenzymes are required steps in the generation of vasoactive hormones such as angiotensin II. An endothelial dysfunction linked to an imbalance in the synthesis and/or the release of these various endothelial factors may explain the initiation of cardiovascular pathologies (from hypertension to atherosclerosis) or their development and perpetuation. Table of Contents: Introduction / Multiple Functions of the Endothelial Cells / Calcium Signaling in Vascular Cells and Cell-to-Cell Communications / Endothelium-Dependent Regulation of Vascular Tone / Conclusion / References