Dendritic Cells And Virus Infection

Dendritic cells are vital to induce potent anti-viral immune responses. It will become clear to the reader that dendritic cells often play a dual role during viral infections. On the one hand they are able to mount potent antiviral immune responses, and on the other hand several viruses, including HIV-1, use DC as a vector to be transferred from the periphery to the lymph nodes where they infect their prime target.

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.

Dendritic cells play the most vital part in inducing anti-viral immune responses in HIV and AIDS among many other viruses. Research on dendritic cells (DCs) is emerging as a fundamental aspect for the comprehension of the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of viral diseases. This volume focuses on the role of DCs in the pathogenesis and immunity of HIV-1 infection. It is the only comprehensive volume on pathogenesis and immunity of Dendritic Cells that also focuses on HIV.

This book discusses contemporary ideas on different molecular and immunological aspects of diseases. Different signaling mediators drive the production of messenger molecules that mediate their action, leading to the elicitation/suppression of immune responses. It provides a balanced approach to the study of different molecular phenomena that eventually drive infection outcomes and that can be manipulated for therapeutic benefits.

Over the generations the skin has been the site for immunization against smallpox. This method of immunization was described in a letter written by Lady Mary Montagu on April 1, 1717 in Adrianopole, Turkey: "The small-pox, so fatal, and so general amongst us, is here entirely harmless by the invention of ingrafting, which is the term they give it. . . The old woman comes with a nut-shell full of the matter of the best sort of small-pox . . . She immediately rips open (the skin) with a large needle . . . and puts into the vein as much venom as can lie upon the head of her needle, and after binds up the wound. There is no example of anyone that died of it; and you may believe that I am satisfied of the safety of this experiment since I intend to try it on my dear little son" (Letters from the right Honourable Lady Mary Montagu 1709-1762. Published by J. M. Dent and Co. London, 2nd edition, September, 1906, p. 124. ) The "variolation" method was, 80 years later, markedly improved by the use of cowpox virus, as reported by Edward Jenner in 1796. The successful method of intradermal immunization against smallpox and later against other virus diseases is in fact based on the presence of anitigen-presenting dendritic cells in the skin.

This monograph concisely but thoroughly introduces the reader to the field of mathematical immunology. The book covers first basic principles of formulating a mathematical model, and an outline on data-driven parameter estimation and model selection. The authors then introduce the modeling of experimental and human infections and provide the reader with helpful exercises. The target audience primarily comprises researchers and graduate students in the field of mathematical biology who wish to be concisely introduced into mathematical immunology.