The host's struggle against undesired guests

Abstract

Immunobiology 5: The Immune System in Health and Disease (5th edn)edited by Charles A. Janeway et al., Garland Publishing, 2001. £48.77 (pbk) (732 pages and one CD-ROM) ISBN 0 81533642 XAs the sequencing of the human and murine genomes is nearing completion, molecular developments in immunology are progressing tremendously. All proteins playing a role in host immunobiology should, in theory, be revealed and will only have to be assigned a function. The resulting complexity of immunobiology represents an increasing challenge to teach this field to medical students, undergraduates, graduates and other scientists who want to know more about the immune system. Aiming to meet these objectives, Immunobiology 5: The Immune System in Health and Disease, represents one of the most prominent and leading textbooks in the list of introductory books on immunobiology. What makes this book so outstanding? The excellent layout, concise diagrams and the remarkably designed icons used throughout the book, which provide good support and motivation to start reading and subsequently become captivated by its contents. Additional features also characterize this new edition: it is made clear to the reader that, first and foremost, the immune system exists to protect the host from infection. Other aspects of immunology, such as allergy, autoimmunity, graft rejection and immunity to tumors, are treated as variations on this basic protective function.This book has undergone some major reorganization. First, innate immunity has a more appropriate position in the line of events after being recognized as an important precursor to the adaptive immune response. Conversely, immunological methods appear, more appropriately, as an annexed toolbox.Another new feature is grouping the two lymphoid lineages (B vs T) together rather than separately. An example of a mechanism shared by these lineages is lymphocyte recognition of antigens by receptors, resulting from rearrangements of gene segments by recombination-activating genes (RAG). Other shared mechanisms include the similar course of development for B and T cells from a common precursor cell, and the promotion of T-cell survival by self peptide to self major histocompatibility complex (MHC) ligands. However, B- and T-cell activation and their effector functions are kept separate.Chapter 10 attempts to collate all the basic information and treats the immune system as a whole, integrated organization. However, some restrictions into transmission become apparent when the reader realizes that all the discussed facts rely predominantly on the mouse and human immune systems. Therefore, significant distinctions observed in other animal species cannot be respected. Other features going into further detail, such as immunological organ-specific peculiarities (e.g. microglia cells), had to be skipped.Two other novelties distinguish this edition: (1) the work has been cross-referenced to the clinical companion text Case Studies in Immunology by Fred Rosen and Raif Geha (3rd edn, Garland Publishing, 2001), which provide the reader with 35 exemplary and relevant case studies. (2) The inclusion of a CD-ROM containing 27 immunological animations tries to explain some topics better than using a static image. However, the animations are kept at a simple, poorly interactive and soundless level. Thus, a future edition designated for young people will require further respective improvements. Nevertheless, it would be inappropriate to emphasize these minor and only peripheral drawbacks because, overall, this book is excellent for all those who require basic training in immunology.