GenerationandEffectorFunctionsofRegulatoryLymphocytes

Overthelastseveralyears,immunologistshavere-discoveredtheimportanceofregulatorylymphocytes,formerlytermed'suppressorcells'.Manyrecentreportshavedocumentedtheirexistence,effectorfunctionsandpotentialtherapeuticbenefitsinautoimmunityandtransplantation.However,eventhoughmoderntechniqueshaveallowedustogetamuchmoredetailedpictureofthesecells,theyarestillhighlycontroversial.Severalunresolvedissuesresponsibleforthisdilemmaarediscussedinthisbook:itisdifficulttogrowandclonesuchcells,theirphenotypesandeffectorfunctionsarediverseandcansometimeseasilybelost,anditisnotwellunderstoodhowtheyinteractwithantigen-presentingcells.Thisbookcontainscontributionsfromleadinginvestigatorsfromaroundtheworld,includinglivelydiscussionofthecurrentstateoftheartinstudiesofregulatorylymphocytes.Topicsfeaturedarethephysiologicalcontrolofautoimmunity,theroleofantigen-specificcellsinvariousdiseasesanddiseasemodelsandeffectormechanisms.Therapeuticapplicationsareconsidered,particularlyfortype1diabetes,tissuetransplantationandthecontrolofviralinfection.Thisimportantandgroundbreakingbookshouldbeofinteresttoallimmunologists.RelatedNovartisFoundationsymposia:254Immunoinformatics:bioinformaticstrategiesforbetterunderstandingofimmunefunctionChair:Hans-GeorgRammensee256CancerandinflammationChair:SiamonGordon