Our body is not sterile and harbors enumerable microflora that are now being understood to play a complex role in immune regulation and shaping of the immune system in a continuous and dynamic way. In 8 chapters, Microbial Crosstalk with Immune System: New Insights in Therapeutics provides an overall introduction with special focus on how the immune system which is specifically geared to get rid of non-self-antigens, allows numerous microbes to colonize the human body. In the presence of microbes there are several observations that suggest that there are multiple roles that are played by these microbes in tumor progression and shaping of our immune system which is explained at length in subsequent chapters. Microbial Crosstalk with Immune System: New Insights in Therapeutics discusses the emerging mechanisms of immune-therapeutics as well as its limitations while emphasizing the potential role of microbes in shaping immune-therapeutic and evolving novel strategies to deal with any limitations. - Focuses on the modulation of immune system by the microbiome, thus affecting cancer prognosis - Discusses various current research strategies in the field that are still in experimental stages. enabling readers to gain a perspective on the ongoing research in the field - Gives insight into the emerging mechanisms of immune-therapeutics and its limitations - Emphasizes the potential role of microbes in shaping immune-therapeutics

The book provides an overview on how the microbiome contributes to human health and disease. The microbiome has also become a burgeoning field of research in medicine, agriculture & environment. The readers will obtain profound knowledge on the connection between intestinal microbiota and immune defense systems, medicine, agriculture & environment. The book may address several researchers, clinicians and scholars working in biomedicine, microbiology and immunology. The application of new technologies has no doubt revolutionized the research initiatives providing new insights into the dynamics of these complex microbial communities and their role in medicine, agriculture & environment shall be more emphasized. Drawing on broad range concepts of disciplines and model systems, this book primarily provides a conceptual framework for understanding these human-microbe, animal-microbe & plant-microbe, interactions while shedding critical light on the scientific challenges that lie ahead. Furthermore this book explains why microbiome research demands a creative and interdisciplinary thinking—the capacity to combine microbiology with human, animal and plant physiology, ecological theory with immunology, and evolutionary perspectives with metabolic science.This book provides an accessible and authoritative guide to the fundamental principles of microbiome science, an exciting and fast-emerging new discipline that is reshaping many aspects of the life sciences. These microbial partners can also drive ecologically important traits, from thermal tolerance to diet in a typical immune system, and have contributed to animal and plant diversification over long evolutionary timescales. Also this book explains why microbiome research presents a more complete picture of the biology of humans and other animals, and how it can deliver novel therapies for human health and new strategies.

Studying the lung microbiome requires a specialist approach to sampling, laboratory techniques and statistical analysis. This Monograph introduces the techniques used and discusses how respiratory sampling, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, metagenomics and the application of ecological theory can be used to examine the respiratory microbiome. It examines the different components of the respiratory microbiome: viruses and fungi in addition to the more frequently studied bacteria. It also considers a range of contexts from the paediatric microbiome and how this develops to disease of all ages including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic suppurative lung diseases, interstitial lung diseases, acquired pneumonias, transplantation, cancer and HIV, and the interaction of the respiratory microbiome and the environment.

Microbial endocrinology represents a newly emerging interdisciplinary field that is formed by the intersection of the fields of neurobiology and microbiology. This book will introduce a new perspective to the current understanding not only of the factors that mediate the ability of microbes to cause disease, but also to the mechanisms that maintain normal homeostasis. The discovery that microbes can directly respond to neuroendocrine hormones, as evidenced by increased growth and production of virulence-associated factors, provides for a new framework with which to investigate how microorganisms interface not only with vertebrates, but also with invertebrates and even plants. The reader will learn that the neuroendocrine hormones that one most commonly associates with mammals are actually found throughout the plant, insect and microbial communities to an extent that will undoubtedly surprise many, and most importantly, how interactions between microbes and neuroendocrine hormones can influence the pathophysiology of infectious disease.

Inspired by an exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, explores microbes and their implications for modern science and medicine.

Physiological and Biotechnological Aspects of Extremophiles highlights the current and topical areas of research in this rapidly growing field. Expert authors from around the world provide the latest insights into the mechanisms of these fascinating organisms use to survive.The vast majority of extremophiles are microbes which include archaea, bacteria and some eukaryotes. These microbes live under chemical and physical extremes that are usually lethal to cellular molecules, yet they manage to survive and even thrive. Extremophiles have important practical uses. They are a valuable source of industrially important enzymes and recent research has revealed novel mechanisms and biomolecular structures with a broad range of potential applications in biotechnology, biomining, and bioremediation.Aimed at research scientists, students, microbiologists, and biotechnologists, this book is an essential reading for scientists working with extremophiles and a recommended reference text for anyone interested in the microbiology, bioprospecting, biomining, biofuels, and extremozymes of these organisms. - Shows the implications of the physiological adaptations of microbes from extreme habitats that are largely contributed by their biomolecules from basic to applied research - Provides in-depth knowledge of genomic plasticity and proteome of different extremophiles - Gives detailed and comprehensive insight about use of genetic engineering as well as genome editing for industrial applications

This is the first comprehensive volume to look at the importance of short-chain fatty acids in digestion, the function of the large intestine and their role in human health. Short-chain fatty acids are the major product of bacterial fermentation of dietary carbohydrates in the human and animal large intestine. They represent the major end products of digestive processes occurring in the caecum and large intestine. As such, they form an important dietary component and it is increasingly recognised that they may have a significant role in protecting against large bowel cancer and in metabolism. Prepared by an international team of contributors who are at the forefront of this area of research, this volume will be an essential source of reference for gastroenterologists, nutritionists and others active in this area.

Gamma/delta (γδ) T-cells are a small subset of T-lymphocytes in the peripheral circulation but constitute a major T-cell population at other anatomical localizations such as the epithelial tissues. In contrast to conventional α/β T-cells, the available number of germline genes coding for T-cell receptor (TCR) variable elements of γδ T-cells is very small. Moreover, there is a prefential localization of γδ T-cells expressing given Vgamma and Vdelta genes in certain tissues. In humans, γδ T-cells expressing the Vg9Vd2-encoded TCR account for anywhere between 50 and >95% of peripheral blood γδ T-cells, whereas cells expressing non-Vd2 genes dominate in mucosal tissues. In mice, there is an ordered appearance of γδ T-cell „waves“ during embryonic development, resulting in preferential localization of γδ T-cells expressing distinct VgammaVdelta genes in the skin, the reproductive organs, or gut epithelia. The major function of γδ T-cells resides in local immunosurveillance and immune defense against infection and malignancy. This is supported by the identification of ligands that are selectively recognized by the γδ TCR. As an example, human Vgamma9Vdelta2 T-cells recognize phosphorylated metabolites („phosphoantigens“) that are secreted by many pathogens but can also be overproduced by tumor cells, providing a basis for a role of these γδ T-cells in both anti-infective and anti-tumor immunity. Similarly, the recognition of endothelial protein C receptor by human non-Vdelta2 γδ T-cells has recently been identified to provide a link for the role for such γδ T-cells in immunity against epithelial tumor cells and cytomegalovirus-infected endothelial cells. In addition to „classical“ functions such as cytokine production and cytotoxicity, recent studies suggest that subsets of γδ T-cells can exert additional functions such as regulatory activity and – quite surpisingly – „professional“ antigen-presenting capacity. It is currently not well known how this tremendous extent of functional plasticity is regulated and what is the extent of γδ TCR ligand diversity. Due to their non-MHC-restricted recognition of unusual stress-associated ligands, γδ T-cells have raised great interest as to their potential translational application in cell-based immunotherapy. Topics of this Research Focus include: Molecular insights into the activation and differentiation requirements of γδ T-cells, role of pyrophosphates and butyrophilin molecules for the activation of human γδ T-cells, role of γδ T-cells in tumor immunity and in other infectious and non-infectious diseases, and many others. We are most grateful to all colleagues who agreed to write a manuscript. Thanks to their contributions, this E-book presents an up-to-date overview on many facets of the still exciting γδ T-cells. Dieter Kabelitz & Julie Déchanet-Merville

The term “immunobiotics” has been proposed to define microbial strains able to beneficially regulate the mucosal immune system. Research in immunobiotics has significantly evolved as researchers employed cutting-edge technologies to investigate the complex interactions of these beneficial microorganisms with the immune system. During the last decade, our understanding of immunobiotics-host interaction was profoundly transformed by the discovery of microbial molecules and host receptors involved in the modulation of gut associated immune system, as well as the systemic and distant mucosal immune systems. In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in the number of reports describing the beneficial effects of immunobiotics in diseases such as intestinal and respiratory infections, allergy, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, immunosuppression, and several other immune-mediated conditions. Evidence is also emerging of immunobiotics related molecules with immunomodulatory functions leading to the production of pharmabiotics, which may positively influence human or animal health. Therefore, research in immunobiotics continue to contribute not only to food but also medical and pharmaceutical fields. The compilation of research articles included in this ebook should help reader to have an overview of the recent advances in immunobiotics.

The Food Forum convened a public workshop on February 22-23, 2012, to explore current and emerging knowledge of the human microbiome, its role in human health, its interaction with the diet, and the translation of new research findings into tools and products that improve the nutritional quality of the food supply. The Human Microbiome, Diet, and Health: Workshop Summary summarizes the presentations and discussions that took place during the workshop. Over the two day workshop, several themes covered included: The microbiome is integral to human physiology, health, and disease. The microbiome is arguably the most intimate connection that humans have with their external environment, mostly through diet. Given the emerging nature of research on the microbiome, some important methodology issues might still have to be resolved with respect to undersampling and a lack of causal and mechanistic studies. Dietary interventions intended to have an impact on host biology via their impact on the microbiome are being developed, and the market for these products is seeing tremendous success. However, the current regulatory framework poses challenges to industry interest and investment.