This volume is a product of a collaborative effort and attempts to provide a wide and up-to-date coverage of information regarding the biology and on the potential application of immunostimulatory DNA. ISS hold great promise for influencing the immune response and the authors anticipate that the high efficacy and low toxicity observed in animal models will translate into success in a variety of human clinical applications.

This volume is a product of a collaborative effort and attempts to provide a wide and up-to-date coverage of information regarding the biology and on the potential application of immunostimulatory DNA. ISS hold great promise for influencing the immune response and the authors anticipate that the high efficacy and low toxicity observed in animal models will translate into success in a variety of human clinical applications.

Leading researchers review the activation of the mammalian immune system by bacterial DNA and its immunostimulatory sequences (ISS), and consider the applications of ISS in clinical medicine. The authors survey the latest findings concerning the receptor-recognition and signaling pathways triggered by ISS , the process of cell activation, and the potential vaccination strategies using ISS. Specific pharmaceutical applications discussed include infectious disease (Hepatitis B, HIV, and mycobacterial infections), allergy (asthma and conjunctivitis), cancer (lymphoma), and inflammation and autoimmunity (arthritis and colitis).

Mucosal immunology is so important since most infectious agents enter the body through the various mucous membranes, and many common infections take place in or on mucous membranes. Mucosal Immunology, now in its third edition, is the only comprehensive reference covering the basic science and clinical manifestations of mucosal immunology. This book contains new research data, exceptional illustrations, original theory, a new perspective and excellent organization. - The most comprehensive text on mucosal immunology from internationally recognized experts in the field - Includes exceptional color illustrations, new research data, original theory and information on all mucosal diseases - Contains nine new chapters and an expanded appendix

Contains patterns of allergic reactivity for disorders such as asthma, atopic dermatitis, urticaria, and anaphylaxis. Written by leading experts in the field, Inflammatory Mechanisms in Allergic Diseases covers non-anaphylactic drug disorders; synthesis and formation of IgE antibodies; new treatments using allergenic peptides, immunostimulatory oligonucleotides, and pharmacogenomics;recent advances targeting effector mechanisms; hypersensitivity reactions to drugs and more! With over 3100 references, tables, drawings, and micrographs, Inflammatory Mechanisms in Allergic Diseases is an essential reference for allergists, pulmonologists, immunologists, dermatologists, ophthalmologists, otolaryngologists, internists, pediatricians, family practitioners, and medical students in these disciplines.

The field of DNA vaccines has undergone explosive growth in the last few years. As usual, some historical precursors of this approach can be d- cerned in the scientific literature of the last decades. However, the present state of affairs appears to date from observations made discreetly in 1988 by Wolff, Malone, Felgner, and colleagues, which were described in a 1989 patent and published in 1990. Quite surprisingly, they showed that genes carried by pure plasmid DNA and injected in a saline solution, hence the epithet “naked DNA,” could be taken up and expressed by skeletal muscle cells with a low but reproducible frequency. Such a simple methodology was sure to spawn many applications. In a separate and important line of experimentation, Tang, De Vit, and Johnston announced in 1992 that it was indeed possible to obtain humoral immune responses against proteins encoded by DNA delivered to the skin by a biolistic device, which has colloquially become known as the “gene gun. ” The year 1993 saw the publication of further improvements in the me- ods of naked DNA delivery and, above all, the first demonstrations by several groups of the induction of humoral and cytotoxic immune responses to viral antigens expressed from injected plasmid DNA. In some cases, protection against challenge with the pathogen was obtained. The latter result was - questionably the touchstone of a method of vaccination worthy of the name.

This reference examines the cellular, molecular, and genetic mechanisms involved in airway inflammation, as well as the pathophysiology, epidemiology, and aetiology of asthma. It explores strategies to prevent cellular injury and oxidative tissue damage, inhibit key inflammatory pathways and identify disease-specific targets to reduce the induction