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The chapters included in this volume represent but a few examples of the close link between aberrant signaling pathways and autoimmune diseases. They cover a variety of cells (T, B and myeloid/monocytic cells), receptors (for antigen, Fc and cytokines) and intracellular signaling molecules (kinases, phosphatases, adapters and transcription factors) in the immune system. This book brings together clinical and experimental aspects of autoimmune disease and the fundamental science of intracellular signaling pathways. Therefore, it should be of interest to clinical investigators of autoimmune diseases as wll as to basic immunologists and cell biologists interested in the molecular basis of signal transduction in the immune system.

The Janeway's Immunobiology CD-ROM, Immunobiology Interactive, is included with each book, and can be purchased separately. It contains animations and videos with voiceover narration, as well as the figures from the text for presentation purposes.

How do you discriminate yourself from other people? This question must sound odd to you since you easily recognize others at a glance and, without any effort, would not mistake them for yourself. However, it is not always easy for some people to discriminate themselves from others. For example, patients with schi- phrenia often talk with “others” living inside themselves. Thus it is likely that n- mally your brain actively recognizes and remembers the information belonging to yourself and discriminates it from the information provided by others, although you are not conscious of it. This brain function must have been particularly important for most animals to protect their lives from enemies and for species to survive through evolution. Similarly, higher organisms have also acquired their immune system through evolution that discriminates nonself pathogens and self-body to protect their lives from pathogens such as bacteria or viruses. The brain system may distinguish integrated images of self and nonself created from many inputs, such as vision, sound, smell, and others. The immune system recognizes and distinguishes a variety of structural features of self and nonself components. The latter actually include almost everything but self: for example, bacteria, viruses, toxins, pollens, chemicals, transplanted organs, and even tumor cells derived from self-tissue. To this end the immune system recruits different kinds of immune cells, such as B and T lymphocytes, natural killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells, and macrophages.

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.

Signaling through antigen receptor initiates a complex series of events resulting in the activation of genes that regulate the development, proliferation and differentiation of lymphocytes. During the past few years, rapid progress has been made in understanding the molecular basis of signaling pathways mediated by antigen and cytokine receptors. These pathways involve protein tyrosine kinases which are coupled to downstream regulatory molecules, including small guanine nucleotide binding proteins (e. g. p21'OS), serine threonine kinases (e. g. , members of the ERK family), and a large group of transcription factors. More recently, there have been breakthroughs in elucidating the genetic defects underlying three X-linked primary immunodeficiency diseases in humans. This volume surveys aspects of these rapidly developing areas of research. The book is divided into 5 different sections. Section I deals with signaling pathways in B lymphocytes. It includes a contemporary assessment of B cell antigen receptor structures, and discussion of the role of Ig-a/lg-B polypeptides in linking the antigen receptor to intracellular signal transduction pathways. The role of accessory molecules in the regulation of signaling by the B cell antigen receptor is also considered. Section II adopts a similar approach to the analysis of the antigen receptor on T lymphocytes. The importance of specialized signaling motifs in the CD3 polypeptides, mechanisms whereby these motifs may interact with the lymphocyte-specific protein tyrosine kinases, and the downstream consequences of these interactions are reviewed. In addition, the role of antigen-induced apoptosis in the generation of immunological tolerance is discussed.