BOOK REVIEW LIVRO* * Este livro encontra-se na Biblioteca do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo.
AUSTYN, Jonathan M. & WOOD, Kathryn, J. - Principles of cellular and molecular immunology. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1993. 735p. illust.
ISBN: 0-19-854195-3
This book contains a series of lectures given by the authors in the Nuffield Departament of Surgery at the University of Oxford. As the editors say in their Preface, these lectures were designed to introduce Immunology to students and to update the immunological knowledge of their colleagues.
The book is divided in 11 chapters and contains one appendix. The first section covers general features of the immune system, the cellular and molecular interactions occurring during immune responses, lymphoid tissues, and lymphocyte recirculation. The second chapter comprehensively covers the issue of Major Histocompa-tibility Complex. A chapter on the antigen presenting cells focuses on antigen processing and presentation, peptide - MHC interactions and dendritic cells. Two excellent sections in this volume deal with T cell covering the cellular and molecular basis of T cell responses and the T cell repertoire. These are well illustrated, clear, and very didatic chapters. The sections 6 and 7 focus on the structure and function of B and T cells antigen receptors, antigen receptors genes, and the immunoglobulin superfamily. Chapter 8 includes B cells and antibody responses with emphasis on B cell activation, control of B cell responses by cytokines, and function of defined cytokines. This book covers also a lucid section about inflammation including the phases and mediators of inflammation, the plasma enzyme systems, the complement, and cytokines mediating inflammatory and effector functions. Chapter 10 deals with cellular cytotixicity including NK cells, macrophages, and mechanisms of hypersensitivity. The last section focus-ses on idiotype networks, supressor T cells and supressor pathways, and immune regulation by cytokines. Finally, an appendix illustrates the production and use of antibodies, as well the cellular and molecular techniques used in immunological research.
Most aspects related to the structure of this book are attractive, didatic, unconventional, and satisfactory. Each chapter is organized in a clearly outlined pattern, with a basic text and a boxed text which cotains more detailed information. As the authors point out in their introduction, once the basic text has been learned, the chapter can be re-read to include the boxed text. This approach aids the reader with little immunological background to gain a sufficient information to read each chapter in sequence. There are many ilustrations (10 schemes, 108 tables, and approximately 355 figures) which reinforce the text and aid the learning of the points covered. The reference lists at the end of each chapter are balanced and so recent as 1992, and provide interested readers easy access to the primary sources of information.
This excellent book introduces basic and recent key concepts in a manner that can be understood by undergraduated science students, clinicians, and post-graduated research students in Immunology. Therefore, it is recommended to all who are receiving their introduction to the fascinating field of basic Immunology
Mythes Toledo Barros
Disciplina de Alergia e Imunopatologia do
Hospital das Clínicas - FMUSP.
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
20 Sept 2006 -
Date of issue
June 1994
