Lymphocytes: A Practical Approach (2nd edn) by S.L. Rowland-Jones and A.J. McMichel

Abstract

Oxford University Press, 2000. £32.50 (352 pages)ISBN 0 1996 3816 0Understanding how the body uses specialized immune cells called lymphocytes in fighting both infections and tumours has been central to designing new strategies for vaccines and immunotherapy. This book provides practical advice for scientists embarking on the study of lymphocytes in the laboratory, and introduces several new techniques that have revolutionized this fieldThis is how ‘Lymphocytes, A Practical Approach’ is described by Oxford University Press (http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-963816-0#contents). The advent of novel and powerful technologies in molecular biology, cellular immunology and immunobiology has seen many changes since the first edition of this book in 1988. This, per se, increased the hope for a solution to many infectious diseases and tumour processes, and contributed to the belief that several therapies would be available before the end of the millennium. Although we want to believe that the world will not be inhabited by millions of disease-affected humans, we would also like to believe that all scientists aiming at improving this situation would be concerned with the activities and disturbances of all aspects of the immune system that accompany infections and tumours. A better understanding of the physiology of the immune system and, consequently, of its diversity and organization, is fundamentally important to achieving progress in immunoprotection and immunotherapy.‘Lymphocytes: A Practical Approach’ is unquestionably an update for researchers in immunology. This second edition is improved through the inclusion of detailed chapters on recent approaches for studying thymocyte biology and programmed cell death, dynamics of T cells and limiting dilution analysis, lymphocyte communication and cytokines, or biochemical characterization of lymphocytes and immunohistochemistry of lymphoid organs. However, it fails to describe techniques dealing with B- and T-cell repertoires1xT cell repertoire and clonal expansions in normal and clinical samples. Pannetier, C. et al. Immunol. Today. 1995; 16: 176–181Abstract | Full Text PDF | PubMed | Scopus (493)See all References, 2xVH gene family utilization in colonies derived from B and pre-B cells detected by the RNA colony blot assay. Wu, G. and Paige, C. EMBO J. 1986; 5: 3475–3481PubMedSee all References, 3xGlobal analysis of antibody repertoires. 1. An Immunoblot method for the quantitative screening of a large number of reactivities. Haury, M. et al. Scand. J. Immunol. 1994; 39: 79–87Crossref | PubMed | Scopus (95)See all References, which are vital to the analysis of whole immune system activities following infections or malignancies. If lymphocyte biology is to make a major contribution, the intricacies of the immune system performance following disturbances must be studied in detail.However, the book contains extremely useful practical advice for studying lymphocytes in the laboratory. The practical advice on the study of lymphocytes and key notions of lymphocyte handling is extremely useful for young scientists and teachers of immunology. The authors deserve full credit for organizing such a work. In terms of elucidating how lymphocytes fight infections and tumours, however, we still perhaps need to wait for the next millennium.