Immunopharmacology Of The Gastrointestinal System

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.

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.

Innervation of the Gut provides a stimulating discussion of gut innervations based on exciting developments generated by advanced neuroanatomical and electrophysiological approaches. All components of the nervous system are covered, including central, spinal, autonomic, and enteric systems. This information is relative to secretory, motor, and immune regulatory functions of the gut, as well as visceral sensation. Brain transmitters involved in mediating stress-induced alterations of gastrointestinal motor function and the central regulation of vagal outflow to the gut are discussed in detail. The book will stimulate basic scientists and gastroenterologists to expand research efforts that may enable them to unravel the mechanisms of brain-gut interactions under physiological and pathological conditions. Students, psychologists, and psychiatrists will find Innervation of the Gut an essential reference for their studies.

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

The Handbook of Immunopharmacology: Lipid Mediators covers a comprehensive overview of lipid mediators, from synthesis through to inhibition. The book discusses the metabolism of arachidonic acid; the measurement of fatty acids and their metabolites; and the biological properties of cyclooxygenase products. The text also describes other essential fatty acids, their metabolites and cell-cell interactions; the inhibitors of fatty acid-derived mediators; as well as the biosynthesis and catabolism of platelet-activating factor. The cellular sources of platelet-activating factor and related lipids; the biological properties of platelet-activating factor; and the effects of platelet-activating factor receptor antagonists are also considered. Immunopharmacologists, immunologists, and pharmacologists will find the book invaluable.

When Nancy Beckage and I first met in Lynn Riddiford's laboratory at the University of Washington in the mid 1970s, the fields of parasitology, behavior, and endocrinology were thriving and far-flung--disciplines in no serious danger of intersecting. There were rumors that they might have some common ground: Behavioural Aspects of Parasite Transmission (Canning and Wright, 1972) had just emerged, with exciting news not only of the way parasites themselves behave, but also of Machiavellian worms that caused intermediate hosts to shift fundamental responses to light and disturbance, becoming in the process more vulnerable to predation by the next host (Holmes and Bethel, 1972). Meanwhile, biologists such as Miriam Rothschild (see Dedication), G. B. Solomon (1969), and Lynn Riddiford herself (1975) had suggested that the endocrinological rami of parasitism might be subtle and pervasive. In general, however, para fications sites were viewed as aberrant organisms, perhaps good for a few just-so stories prior to turning our attention once again to real animals. In the decade that followed, Pauline Lawrence (1986a,b), Davy Jones (Jones et al. , 1986), Nancy Beckage (Beckage, 1985; Beckage and Templeton, 1986), and others, including many in this volume, left no doubt that the host-parasite combination in insect systems was physiologically distinct from its unparasitized counterpart in ways that went beyond gross pathology.

Animal cell technology is a growing discipline of cell biology which aims to understand the structure, function and behaviour of differentiated animal cells, and especially the development of such abilities as are useful for industrial purposes. These developments range from clonal expansion of differentiated cells with useful abilities, to optimization of cell culture on industrial scale and modulation of the cells' abilities to produce drugs and monoclonal antibodies. The sixth volume in this series gives a complete review of today's state of the art in Japan, a country where this field is especially well advanced. It will be of interest to cell biologists, biochemists, molecular biologists, immunologists and other disciplines related to animal cell culture, working in the academic environment as well as in (biotechnology or pharmaceutical) industry.

R. Fuller 1.1 DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCIAL PREPARATIONS The history of the probiotic effect has been well documented many times previously (see e.g. Bibel, 1982; Fuller, 1992). The consumption of fermented milks dates from pre-biblical times but the probiotic concept was born at the end of the last century with the work of Metchnikoff at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. In the century that has elapsed since Metchnikoff's work, the probiotic concept has been accepted by scientists and consumers throughout the world. Attempts to refine the practice from the use of traditional soured milks to preparations containing specific micro organisms have occupied the thoughts and endeavours of scientists in many different countries. But, in spite of the large amount of effort expended in attempting to explain and define the effect, it has to be admitted that little is known of the way in which probiotics operate. There are likely to be several different mechanisms because it seems highly improbable that a mode of action that explains resistance to microbial infection will also hold true for improved milk production or alleviation of lactose malabsorption.