This book has been written keeping in mind the needs of the Indian student and curriculum. The content is exhaustive and cannot be found in any single textbook, Indian or foreign. Its uniqueness is the packaging of the basic and the clinical aspects of immunology in a single book. The goal of creating this book is:
The book is thematically divided into two sections.
The first sixteen chapters deal with basic immunology. This part deals with development and maturation of cells of the immune system, molecular basis of diversity of immune response, movement of cells to the site of infection directed by soluble mediators, functions of effector cells and molecules, and careful control of harmful effects of activated immune effectors. Chapter 17 is entirely devoted to the principles of laboratory techniques used in immunology.
The second part, covered in ten chapters, deals with immune response to infectious and non-infectious diseases such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, allergy (hypersensitivity) and diseases caused by mutations occurring during several developmental steps in the complex process of maturation of immune response, giving rise to immunodeficiency diseases. While dealing with the problems in the life-saving procedure of allogeneic transplantation, a special section is devoted to the development of new biologics such as engineered monoclonal antibodies and fusion proteins, future applications of derivatized stem cells and other genetic engineering applications.
Sudha Gangal has over four decades of experience in cancer research. Her chief areas of research are tumour immunology, cell biology and genetic diseases. She is a founder member of the Moving Academy of Medicine and Biomedicine in Pune. She is a Fellow of Indian National Science Academy and Indian Academy of Sciences. She is the recipient of Ranbaxy award for Applied Research in cancer immunology. She has been the President of Indian Immunology Society and Indian Association for Cancer Research.
The author conducts basic and advanced training programmes for students and teachers on a regular basis. She has several research papers and contributed chapters in a number books to her credit. Two editions of her book—Principles and Practice of Animal Tissue Culture, have been published by Universities Press.
Shubhangi Sontakke is the retired Head, Department of Biochemistry, Shivaji University, Kolhapur. She is presently working as Professor of Biochemistry at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of IT and Biotechnology, which is a part of Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Pune. In addition to teaching Biotechnology to B. Sc. and M. Sc. students she has also taught Immunology to M. Sc. students at both these institutes.
Foreword Preface viii Abbreviations xxxi 1 Introduction to Immunology 2 Innate Immunity 3 Cells of the Immune System 4 Organs of the Immune System 5 Antigens 6 Antibodies 7 Antigen Presenting Cells, Antigen Processing and Presentation 8 Major Histocompatibility Complex 9 B cells: Maturation, Activation, Proliferation and Differentiation 10 Immunoglobulin Gene Rearrangement 11 T Cell Maturation, Activation and Differentiation 12 T Cell Receptor 13 Cytokines, Chemokines and their Receptors 14 Cell Signalling and Trafficking 15 The Complement System 16 Effector Mechanisms 17 Principles and Applications of Laboratory Tests in Immunology 18 Monoclonal Antibodies: Production and Applications 19 Immunology of Bacterial Diseases 20 Immunology of Viral Diseases 21 Immunology of Parasitic Diseases 22 Transplantation Immunology 23 Tumour Immunology 24 Tolerance and Autoimmunity 25 Hypersensitivity 26 Acquired and Inherited Immunodeficiency Diseases 27 Vaccines Appendix I Selected markers of human Cluster of Differentiation (CD) Appendix II Cytokines and growth factors: Sources and functions Appendix III Chemokines, receptors and functions Cells expressing chemokine receptors Appendix IV Answers to objective questions and MCQs