Immunopharmacology Of Epithelial Barriers

The realisation that epithelial tissues are not simply passive barriers to the adsorption of materials into internal environments has brought about an enormous growth of investigation of mucosal functions and their active and passive protective roles. Epithelia are highly organized but complex structures, subserving numerous functions, including immunological defence. The use of pharmacological tools in these systems is increasing, which is improving our understanding of epithelial immunobiology. This volume adopts a step-by-step approach, whereby each chapter builds upon the previous one, progressively adding important foundation information, culminating in a series of chapters concerning particular epithelia, including respiratory, gastrointestinal, renal and ocular. The result is a comprehensive but integrated treatise of epithelial function and its immunopharmacology, which aims to serve as an appropriate starting point at which the clinical pulmonologist and the research scientist can obtain an appreciation of some aspects of epithelial immunopharmacology as they are currently understood.

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 consequences for diseases involving the immune system such as AIDS, and chronic inflammatory diseases such as bronchial asthma, rheumatoid athritis, and atherosclerosis, now account for a considerable economic burden to governments worldwide. In response there has been an enormous research effort investigating the basic mechanisms underlying such diseases, and a tremendous drive to identify novel therapeutic applications for their preventions and treatment. Though a plethora of immunological studies have been published in recent years, little has been written about the implications of such research for drug development. As a consequence, this area has not gained the prominence of other new fields such as molecular pharmacology or neuropharmacology, and a focal information source for many pharmacologists interested in diseases of the immune system remains unpublished. The Handbook of Immunopharmacology series provides such a source through the commissioning of a comprehensive collection of volumes on all aspects immunopharmacology. Editors have been sought after for each volume who are not only active in their respective areas of expertise, but who also have distinctly pharmacological bias to their research. The series follows three main themes, each represented by volumes on individual component topics. The first covers each of the major cell types and classes of inflammatory responses that can affect them ("Systems"). The third covers different classes of diseases as well as those under development ("Drugs").

Diseases of the digestive system have a higher morbidity rate than any other group of disorder. There is a growing body of evidence that the immune system participates in the pathogenesis of a wide range of these diseases, including peptic ulcer disease and the gastropathy induced by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). For these reasons, efforts to develop novel therapies for digestive diseases are increasingly focused on the immune system. This volume reviews the immunopharmacology of the gastrointestinal tract at four distinct levels: Immunomodulation at a cellular level Cellular targers for immunomodulating drugs Specific classes of inflammatory mediators Utility and mechanisms of action of glucocorticoids in the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

During the past decades, with the introduction of the recombinant DNA, hybridoma and transgenic technologies there has been an exponential evolution in understanding the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of a large number of human diseases. The technologies are evident with the development of cytokines and monoclonal antibodies as therapeutic agents and the techniques used in gene therapy. Immunopharmacology is that area of biomedical sciences where immunology, pharmacology and pathology overlap. It concerns the pharmacological approach to the immune response in physiological as well as pathological events. This goals and objectives of this textbook are to emphasize the developments in immunology and pharmacology as they relate to the modulation of immune response. The information includes the pharmacology of cytokines, monoclonal antibodies, mechanism of action of immune-suppressive agents and their relevance in tissue transplantation, therapeutic strategies for the treatment of AIDS and the techniques employed in gene therapy. The book is intended for health care professional students and graduate students in pharmacology and immunology.

Principles of Immunopharmacology provides a unique source of essential knowledge on the immune response, its diagnosis and its modification by drugs and chemicals. The 4th edition of this internationally recognized textbook has been revised to include recent developments, but continues the established format, dealing with four related fields in a single volume, thus obviating the need to refer to several different textbooks. The first section of the book, providing a basic introduction to immunology and its relevance for human disease, has been updated to accommodate new immunological concepts, particularly the role of epigenetics and the latest understanding of cancer immunology. The second section on immunodiagnostics offers a topical description of widely used molecular techniques and a new chapter on imaging techniques. This is followed by a systematic coverage of drugs affecting the immune system, including natural products. This third section contains 15 updated chapters, covering classical immunopharmacological topics such as anti-asthmatic, anti-rheumatic and immunosuppressive drugs, but also deals with antibiotics, plant-derived and dietary agents, with new chapters on monoclonal antibodies, immunotherapy in sepsis and infection, drugs for soft-tissue autoimmunity and cell therapy. The book concludes with a chapter on immunotoxicology and drug safety tests. Aids to the reader include a two-column format, glossaries of technical terms and appendix reference tables. The emphasis on illustrations is maintained from the first three editions. The book is a valuable single reference for undergraduate and graduate medical and biomedical students, postgraduate chemistry and pharmacy students, researchers in chemistry, biochemistry and the pharmaceutical industry and researchers lacking basic immunological knowledge, who want to understand the actions of drugs on the immune system.

Non-selective inhibitors of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE), such as theophylline, have been used extensively since 1958. In the decade of the '70s, various PDE isoenzymes were defined which led to the development of the second generation of PDE inhibitors. Currently a variety of these new inhibitors are under test as potential anti-inflammatory drugs. During the past five years, molecular biology has revealed a superfamily of these phosphodiesterase isoenzymes. This book summarizes the present state of knowledge, as well as giving a comprehensive description of the compounds available. It will be invaluable for everyone who wants to choose the most suitable PDE inhibitor for their research or who is dealing with such drugs in a clinical setting. Utilizes actual testing and research of new PDE inhibitors Valuable for researchers and students alike

Bradykinin is a type of plasma hormone that causes blood vessels to dilate, resulting in a drop in blood pressure, the contraction of muscles in the lungs, intestines, and uterus, and pain. The Kinin System reviews the molecular biology of the kinins through their roles in a complex array of inflammatory conditions such as asthma, GI disease, cardiovascular complaints and examines the future therapeutic opportunities. From the prepublication reviews:"A delicious masterpiece."--Chef's DigestThe Kinin System is a comprehensive, timely book covering all aspects of the kinin system from its disocvery to the pathophysiology, pharmacology, and molecular biology of the mechanisms regulating kinin production to kinin receptors in health and disease. The authors take a refreshingly different view of the kinin system than previous books on the subject. Several chapters contain new information on the gene expression, regulation, and cell surface presentation of kininogens and kallikreins, as well as new data, some of it from human studies, on the role of kinins in pain angiogenesis, tissue repair, sepsis, arthritis, asthma, allergic rhinits, myocardial ischemia, and other diseases. * * Offers new information on kinin reception, regulation of gene expression of receptors, and kinin-generating proteins.* Provides a distinctly immunopharmacological approach to the kinin system.* Reviews of the role of kinins in disease and inlcudes data from human studies.* Includes information that is fully up-to-date and comprehensive.