T cells play a vital role mediating adaptive immunity, a specific acquired resistance to an infectious agent produced by the introduction of an antigen. There are a variety of T cell types with different functions. They are called T cells, because they are derived from the thymus gland. This volume discusses how T cells are regulated through the operation of signaling mechanisms. Topics covered include positive and negative selection, early events in T cell receptor engagement, and various T cell subsets.

Natural Killer Cells explains the importance of killer cells and how they are produced. It mentions that the most likely explanation for killer cell production is that they serve as a complementary system for T cells as a primary defense against viruses. However, these cells defend against certain viruses only, such as herpes viruses and influenza viruses. The book also explains the primary functions of killer cells, and it discusses how these cells help recognize damaged tissues, limit further damage to tissues, and regenerate damaged tissues. It discusses how these cells mature and develop, and it covers the different isolation, culture, and propagation methods of these cells. Furthermore, it focuses on the different killer cells that are present in various parts of the human body. The book concludes by explaining that natural killer cells are utilized for clinical therapy of malignancies, and that they have led to positive outcomes in the field of biology and medicine. - Provides a broad, detailed coverage of the biology and interactions of NK cells for students, fellows, scientists, and practitioners - Includes figures, histologic sections, and illustrations of the ontogeny of NK cells

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the discovery of Natural Killer (NK) cells, this volume focuses on the recent advances in our understanding of NK cell development and differentiation and their acquisition of functional properties, as well as the latest models for NK-cell analysis in mice and applications in clinical medicine. NK cells have travelled a circuitous path from their initial description as ‘spontaneous killers’ (for some simply an experimental artifact) to being a bona fide subset of innate lymphoid cells with a complementary mode of action in immune defense and an important mediator of immune reactivity in health and disease. Together, these reviews provide a timely and concise picture of the evolution of NK cells as essential agents in immunity and as potent weapons against disease. This book offers an appealing and insightful resource for scientists and clinicians.

Immunological Concepts in Transfusion Medicine provides a thorough discussion of the immune aspects of blood component transfusion, with in-depth information on the intricacies of immune responses to blood components and the immune processes that may be initiated in response to blood exposure. Written to increase knowledge and awareness of immune challenges such as alloimmunization and transfusion-related acute lung injury, this title bridges current basic scientific discoveries and the potential effects seen in blood recipients. - Complies the knowledge and expertise of Dr. Robert Maitta, an expert in immune responses and antibody function/structure studies. - Helps clinicians in the daily practice of caring for patients in need of transfusion support, as well as physicians in training when considering utilizing blood transfusions in a limited scope or in the setting of massive transfusion. - Includes an immunology primer as an introduction to in-depth chapters covering allergic immune reactions to blood components, transfusion-related immunomodulation, fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia and neonatal neuthropenia, complications of haploidentical and mismatched HSC transplantation, chimeric antibody receptor therapies, and much more. - Consolidates today's available information on this timely topic into a single, convenient resource.

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.

“Infogest” (Improving Health Properties of Food by Sharing our Knowledge on the Digestive Process) is an EU COST action/network in the domain of Food and Agriculture that will last for 4 years from April 4, 2011. Infogest aims at building an open international network of institutes undertaking multidisciplinary basic research on food digestion gathering scientists from different origins (food scientists, gut physiologists, nutritionists...). The network gathers 70 partners from academia, corresponding to a total of 29 countries. The three main scientific goals are: Identify the beneficial food components released in the gut during digestion; Support the effect of beneficial food components on human health; Promote harmonization of currently used digestion models Infogest meetings highlighted the need for a publication that would provide researchers with an insight into the advantages and disadvantages associated with the use of respective in vitro and ex vivo assays to evaluate the effects of foods and food bioactives on health. Such assays are particularly important in situations where a large number of foods/bioactives need to be screened rapidly and in a cost effective manner in order to ultimately identify lead foods/bioactives that can be the subject of in vivo assays. The book is an asset to researchers wishing to study the health benefits of their foods and food bioactives of interest and highlights which in vitro/ex vivo assays are of greatest relevance to their goals, what sort of outputs/data can be generated and, as noted above, highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the various assays. It is also an important resource for undergraduate students in the ‘food and health’ arena.