Immunology is the branch of biomedical sciences to study of the immune system physiology both in healthy and diseased states. Some aspects of autoimmunity draws our attention to the fact that it is not always associated with pathology. For instance, autoimmune reactions are highly useful in clearing off the excess, unwanted or aged tissues from the body. Also, generation of autoimmunity occurs after the exposure to the non-self antigen that is structurally similar to the self, aided by the stimulatory molecules like the cytokines. Thus, a narrow margin differentiates immunity from auto-immunity as already discussed. Hence, finding answers for how the physiologic immunity turns to pathologic autoimmunity always remains a question of intense interest. However, this margin could be cut down only if the physiology of the immune system is better understood. The individual chapters included in this book will cover all the possible aspects of immunology and pathologies associated with it. The authors have taken strenuous effort in elaborating the concepts that are lucid and will be of reader's interest.

Advances in Pharmacology, Volume 91, the latest release in this well-received series, presents the latest information in the field, with this update including chapters on Modulation of inflammation and immune response by the stress-activated transcription factor Nrf2, Therapeutic modulation of macrophage phenotype to treat acute and chronic liver diseases, Immodulation by cannabinoids, The use of nanomaterials to target immunity, Next generation in cancer immunotherapy, checkpoint inhibitors, Vaccines as a therapy for food allergy, Role of inflammation/immune system in depression, Therapeutic targeting of tumor-associated macrophages, Mast cells, and more. - Includes the authority and expertise of leading contributors in pharmacology - Presents the latest release in the Advances in Pharmacology series

This book overviews cancer immunity from broad scientific fields, based on the concept that cancer is a sort of by-product of infection, inflammation, and host immune response. The innate and acquired arms of the immune system mainly participate in tumor immune surveillance, and their activation is critically modulated by the situation of the tumor microenvironment. Many types of immune cells join the formation of the microenvironment. In particular, macrophages and dendritic cells enter the tumor mass to be main players in the inflammatory milieu of tumors. After introducing these topics, the book discusses immunotherapy for cancer patients as an outgrowth of this concept of infection and inflammation. With the contributions of leading scientists actively involved in the field of antitumor immunity study, this book encourages readers to understand the mechanism of general cancers based on inflammation and will facilitate prevention and the development of therapeutics for cancer.

Recent advances in understanding of fundamental immunology have created new insights into the dynamic interactions between tumors and the immune system. This includes new understanding of T- and B-cell interaction, immune inhibitory mechanisms including the biology of T regulatory cells, myeloid suppressor cells, and dendritic cell subsets. Enhanced understanding of mechanisms underlying T-cell anergy such as arginine deprivation, immunosuppressive cytokines, defective innate and interferon response pathways, and NKG2D downregulation have all provided new insight into suppression of anti-tumor immunity and tumor evasion. In addition to emerging understanding of tumor evasion, new immune targets such as CTLA4 blockade, NK stimulatory receptors, manipulation of the antigen processing and presentation, cytokine and costimulatory responses all provide new possibilities for enhancing anti-tumor immunity even in tumors previously felt to be resistant to immune attack. Several of these strategies have already been realized in the clinic. The volume will explore evolving paradigms in antigen presentation, dendritic cell biology, the innate response and immunosuppressive mechanisms, and emerging strategies for manipulation of the immune system for therapeutic benefit that have realized success in neuroblastoma, leukemia, melanoma, lung cancer, and allogeneic transplantation. Early successes as well as failures will be highlighted to provide a snapshot of the state of clinical immunotherapy with an eye to future possibilities such as combination therapies, adoptive T-cell transfer, and the retargeting of immune cells via T-cell receptor engineering.

Humans coexist with millions of harmless microorganisms, but emerging diseases, resistance to antibiotics, and the threat of bioterrorism are forcing scientists to look for new ways to confront the microbes that do pose a danger. This report identifies innovative approaches to the development of antimicrobial drugs and vaccines based on a greater understanding of how the human immune system interacts with both good and bad microbes. The report concludes that the development of a single superdrug to fight all infectious agents is unrealistic.

This book offers a summary and discussion of the advances of inflammation and infection in various cancers. The authors cover the classically known virus infections in cancer, novel roles of other pathogens (e.g. bacteria and fungi), as well as biomarkers for diagnosis and therapy. Further, the chapters highlight the progress of immune therapy, stem cells and the role of the microbiome in the pathophysiology of cancers. Readers will gain insights into complex microbial communities, that inhabit most external human surfaces and play a key role in health and disease. Perturbations of host-microbe interactions often lead to altered host responses that can promote cancer development. Thus, this book highlights emerging roles of the microbiome in pathogenesis of cancers and outcome of therapy. The focus is on mechanistic concepts that underlie the complex relationships between host and microbes. Approaches that can inhibit infection, suppress chronic inflammation and reverse the dysbiosis are discussed, as a means for restoring the balance between host and microbes. This comprehensive work will be beneficial to researchers and students interested in infectious diseases, microbiome, and cancer as well as clinicians and general physiologists.

The concept of immunotherapy was in infancy when the first edition was written; since then, major advances have been made, not only with several prominent clinical trials, but also with the approval of cell-based therapy by the FDA for the treatment of cancer in 2010. These events resulted in a gradually narrowing gap between early scientific knowledge and the late development of immune-based therapies. Consequently, the significance and magnitude of these advances warranted a revision of this contribution; this revised edition will provide a deeper understanding of the recent advances and discoveries related to the function of the immune response and their applications in the development of novel therapies to treat human diseases. Some of the key discoveries during the past five years include: the identification of the new subsets of helper T cells; new cytokines and their networks; and novel signal transduction mechanisms. For example, the identification of TH17 subset of helper T cells, in addition to TH1 and TH2 cells, not only advanced our understanding of the function of the basic immune response, but also raised our awareness of the possible etiology and pathogenesis of diseases such as allergy, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and other auto-immune/immune system based diseases. The newly identified powerful cytokine networks, that regulate both innate and acquired immune responses, emerged as a result of the finding of new cell types such as innate lymphoid cells and iNKT. Identification of the novel cytokines and their networks has advanced our knowledge of the mechanisms involved in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis, including inflammation and tissue repair during stress and injury. The development of HIV vaccines has also seen dramatic changes over the last few years. There has been a shift from a sole focus on T cell vaccines to a holistic approach that pertains to the induction of both humoral and cellular elements. This entails the induction of antibodies – both binding and neutralizing – to prevent infection. The cellular vaccination produces a safety net of CD8+ T-cell responses to suppress the replication of the virus in the infected patients, and both of the effector arms are aided by helper T cells. From the perspective of clinical applications, significant advances have also been made in: oral immunotherapy for allergic disease, the possible treatment of HIV infection, the development of new monoclonal antibodies and their fragments to treat human diseases, and immune cell based therapies for cancer.

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 examines in detail the role of chronic inflammatory processes in the development of several types of cancer. Leading experts describe the latest results of molecular and cellular research on infection, cancer-related inflammation and tumorigenesis. Further, the clinical significance of these findings in preventing cancer progression and approaches to treating the diseases are discussed. Individual chapters cover cancer of the lung, colon, breast, brain, head and neck, pancreas, prostate, bladder, kidney, liver, cervix and skin as well as gastric cancer, sarcoma, lymphoma, leukemia and multiple myeloma.