Principles of Immunopharmacology

Principles of Immunopharmacology provides a unique source of essential knowledge on the immune response, its diagnosis and its modification by drugs and chemicals. The third edition of this internationally recognized textbook has been revised to include recent developments, but continues the established format, dealing with four related fields in a single volume, thus obviating the need to refer to several different textbooks.

Introduction: Altering the chain of command in host defence.- Immunity: Hematopoiesis and lymphocyte development: an introduction.- T cell subsets and T cell-mediated immunity.-Antibody diversity and B lymphocyte-mediated immunity.- Dendritic cells.- Cytokines.- Innate immunity - phagocytes, natural killer cells and the complement system.- Inflammatory mediators and intracellular signalling.- Immune response in human pathology: Infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.- Immune response in human pathology: Hypersensitivity and autoimmunity.- Cancer immunity.- Neuroimmunoendocrinology.- Immunodiagnosis: Antibody detection.- Immunoassays.- Flow cytometry.- Microarrays.-  Immunotherapeutics: Vaccines.- Plasma-derived immunoglobulins.- Anti-allergic drugs.- Drugs for the treatment of airway disease.- Perspectives of immunotherapy in the management of asthma and other allergic conditions.- Immunostimulants in cancer therapy.- Anti-infective activity of immunomodulators.- Immunopharmacology of probiotics and prebiotics.- Mild plant and dietary immunomodulators.- Influence of antibacterial drugs on the immune system.- Cytotoxic drugs.- Immunosuppressives in transplant rejection.- Corticosteroids.- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.- Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.- Immunotoxicology.- Appendices.- Glossary.- Index.