B Lymphocytes in Human Disease

by Bird, Graham; Calvert, Jane E.

• ISBN13: 9780192615732
• ISBN10: 0192615734
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1988-07-21
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

During the past two decades, cells of the B-lymphocyte lineage have been the subject of intensive research. B-lymphocytes and antibodies play a crucial role in the body's defense against infection, but can also be responsible for producing certain diseases. This volume provides an up-to-date discussion of the cellular and molecular biology of antibodies and the cells that produce them. Researchers discuss the fundamentals of B-cell biology that are crucial to understanding how cells and their antibody products generate a range of malignant, autoimmune and immunodeficiency disorders. The discussion of human diseases in the second part of the book provides an interface between recent advances in B-cell biology and B-cell related disease processes.

Table of Contents

Cellular and Molecular Biology of B-Cells

Structure and Functions of Antibody Molecules

The Organization and Expression of Immunoglobulin Genes

Early Stages of B-Cell Differentiation

The Biology of B-Cell Activation

Mechanisms of Receptor Signalling in B-Lymphocytes

Control of Human B-Lymphocyte Growth and Differentiation

The Relationship of B-Lymphocyte Surface Marker Phenotype to Cell Differentiation

Regulation of the Production of Immunoglobulin Classes and Subclasses

The Mucosal Immune System

B-Lymphocytes in Human Disease

Antibody Deficiency States

Measurement of Human B-Lymphocyte Function In Vitro

B-Lymphoproliferations and Normal B-Cell Differentiation

Genetic Mechanisms in B-Cell Neoplasia

Paraproteins in Lymphoproliferative Disease

Idiotype Network Interactions

Autoantibodies--A Perspective

Immune Complex Disease--Theoretical Aspects

Myasthenia Gravis as an Example of Organ-Specific Autoimmune Disease

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