This volume is edited by Dr. Sudhir Gupta, internationally recognized expert in Immunology, Professor of Medicine, Pathology, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. Topics include toll receptors, dendritic cells, NK cells, and complement receptors.

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.

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.

This volume details our current understanding of the architecture and signaling capabilities of the B cell antigen receptor (BCR) in health and disease. The first chapters review new insights into the assembly of BCR components and their organization on the cell surface. Subsequent contributions focus on the molecular interactions that connect the BCR with major intracellular signaling pathways such as Ca2+ mobilization, membrane phospholipid metabolism, nuclear translocation of NF-kB or the activation of Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase and MAP kinases. These elements orchestrate cytoplasmic and nuclear responses as well as cytoskeleton dynamics for antigen internalization. Furthermore, a key mechanism of how B cells remember their cognate antigen is discussed in detail. Altogether, the discoveries presented provide a better understanding of B cell biology and help to explain some B cell-mediated pathogenicities, like autoimmune phenomena or the formation of B cell tumors, while also paving the way for eventually combating these diseases.

Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis provides extensive information regarding Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis (PM/DM), which is described as a heterogeneous disease complex. This book is divided into four sections: Part I (Clinical Features) covers the classification of PM/DM, details of the clinical presentation, and the disease's association with the other connective tissue disorders and malignancies. Part II (Etiology and Mechanisms) covers advances in the immunopathology and viral etiology of PM/DM along with a frequently recognized entity: inclusion body myositis. Part III (Diagnosis and Treatment) covers the histologic, muscle enzyme histochemical, electron microscopic, and resin histology features of PM/DM along with those electromyographic features that could help make a more accurate diagnosis. Part IV (Overview) summarizes the issues that may not have been clear and highlights differing and unsettled views or present available data. This text is directed to clinicians in private practice or in academic institutions concerned with PM/DM patients, including neurologists, rheumatologists, pediatricians, dermatologists, physiatrists, and neuromuscular investigators. This book is intended as well for neuromuscular pathologists who interpret muscle biopsy specimens and electromyographers who perform EMG studies to help determine the clinical diagnosis. Researchers in immunology and immunopathology of neuromuscular diseases will find discussions in this book invaluable.

Since programmed cell death was first described in insects in 1964 and apoptosis was described in 1972, rapid progress has been made in understanding the basic mechanisms and genes regulating programmed cell death and apoptosis. In addition, defects in various genes regulating programmed cell death have been delineated in several experimental models of human diseases. This volume surveys various aspects of these rapidly developing areas of research in programmed cell death/apoptosis. This volume should be of interest to basic immunologists and molecular biologists. The volume begins with a historical perspective of cell death. The remainder of the volume is divided into four different parts. Part I deals with the signaling pathways in apoptosis, including cell cycle control of apoptosis, role of ceramide in apoptosis, role of antibody signaling, and biochemical regulation of apoptosis. The mechanisms for recognition of apoptotic lymphocytes by macrophages are also reviewed. Part II examines the role of various genes that regulate apoptosis, including the role ofFas, FasL, and other TNF family members in apoptosis and homeostatic regulation of immune response. Recently described splice variants and their influence on apoptosis are also reviewed, and the role of the members of the Bcl-2 family in apoptosis is discussed in detail. Part III reviews various aspects of apoptosis in B lymphocytes, including mechanisms that regulate apoptosis/survival of B lymphocytes and the regulation of Fas-mediated apoptosis in B lymphocytes.