Viruses and Nanotechnology

Viruses and Nanotechnology
Author: Marianne Manchester
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2008-10-02
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3540693793

Nanotechnology is a collective term describing a broad range of relatively novel topics. Scale is the main unifying theme, with nanotechnology being concerned with matter on the nanometer scale. A quintessential tenet of nanotechnology is the precise self-assembly of nanometer-sized components into ordered devices. Nanotechnology seeks to mimic what nature has achieved, with precision at the nanometer level down to the atomic level. Nanobiotechnology, a division of nanotechnology, involves the exploitation of biomaterials, devices or methodologies in the nanoscale. In recent years a set of b- molecules has been studied and utilized. Virus particles are natural nanomaterials and have recently received attention for their tremendous potential in this field. The extensive study of viruses as pathogens has yielded detailed knowledge about their biological, genetic, and physical properties. Bacterial viruses (bacte- ophages), plant and animal eukaryotic viruses, and viruses of archaea have all been characterized in this manner. The knowledge of their replicative cycles allows manipulation and tailoring of particles, relying on the principles of self-assembly in infected hosts to build the base materials. The atomic resolution of the virion structure reveals ways in which to tailor particles for higher-order functions and assemblies.

Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy

Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy
Author: Glenn Dranoff
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2011-04-11
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3642141366

The interplay between tumors and their immunologic microenvironment is complex, difficult to decipher, but its understanding is of seminal importance for the development of novel prognostic markers and therapeutic strategies. The present review discusses tumor-immune interactions in several human cancers that illustrate various aspects of this complexity and proposes an integrated scheme of the impact of local immune reactions on clinical outcome. Current active immunotherapy trials have shown durable tumor regressions in a fraction of patients. However, clinical efficacy of current vaccines is limited, possibly because tumors skew the immune system by means of myeloid-derived suppressor cells, inflammatory type 2 T cells and regulatory T cells (Tregs), all of which prevent the generation of effector cells. To improve the clinical efficacy of cancer vaccines in patients with metastatic disease, we need to design novel and improved strategies that can boost adaptive immunity to cancer, help overcome Tregs and allow the breakdown of the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.

Current Topics in Medical Mycology

Current Topics in Medical Mycology
Author: Michael R. McGinnis
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 435
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 146123624X

This latest volume in the Current Topics in Medical Mycology series brings together internationally recognized researchers to summarize current topics of interest to medical mycologists and other scientists who are working in microbiology and immunology. A blend of contemporary, authoritative reviews and summaries of new advancements and future directions, Volume 3 aims to promote the interdisciplinary use of medically important fungi in pathogenesis, epidemiology, mycotoxins, taxonomy, and other areas where basic, applied, and clinical science are used.

Plant-produced Microbial Vaccines

Plant-produced Microbial Vaccines
Author: Alexander V. Karasev
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 126
Release: 2009-04-29
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3540708685

In recent years, plants have been increasingly explored for production of biomedicines and vaccine components. The two main advantages of plant systems are low cost and a greater potential for scalability as compared to microbial or animal systems. An additional advantage from the public health point of view is high safety compared to animal systems, which is important for vaccine production: there are no known plant pathogens capable of replicating in animals, and in humans in particular. A particular antigen or a protein has to be expressed in a plant using one of many available platforms; this antigen/protein subsequently needs to be purified or processed, and later formulated into a vaccine or a therapeutic; these need to be delivered to a human or animal body via an appropriate route. Naturally, all these vaccines and therapeutics must be subjected to regulatory approvals prior to their use. Thus, the challenge is to adapt plant-based platforms for production of cost-efficient biomedicals that can be approved by FDA for use as vaccine components or therapeutics which will be competitive against existing vaccines and drugs. This volume attempts to address the entire spectrum of challenges facing the nascent field of plant-based biomedicals, from the selection of an appropriate production platform to specific methods of downstream processing and regulatory approval issues.

Malaria: Drugs, Disease and Post-genomic Biology

Malaria: Drugs, Disease and Post-genomic Biology
Author: David Sullivan
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 447
Release: 2006-01-09
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3540290885

Despite rapid increases in knowledge, malaria continues to kill more than a million people each year and causes symptomatic disease in a further 300 million individuals. This volume brings some of the world's best investigators to describe recent advances in both the scientific and clinical aspects of malaria, and bridges between the two.

Quasispecies: Concept and Implications for Virology

Quasispecies: Concept and Implications for Virology
Author: Esteban Domingo
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 413
Release: 2006-02-19
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3540263977

Continuous genetic variation and selection of virus subpopulations in the course of RNA virus replications are intimately related to viral disease mechanisms. The central topics of this volume are the origins of the quasispecies concept, and the implications of quasispecies dynamics for viral populations.

Varicella-zoster Virus

Varicella-zoster Virus
Author: Allison Abendroth
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 382
Release: 2010-09-30
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3642127282

This book offers a comprehensive review of basic and clinical research on Varicella-zoster Virus, the only human herpesvirus for which vaccines to prevent both primary and recurrent infection are approved.

Intradermal Immunization

Intradermal Immunization
Author: Marcel B.M. Teunissen
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2011-09-15
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3642236901

This volume of Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology covers diverse topics related to intradermal immunization. The chapters highlight the effectiveness of intradermal immunization in experimental animal models or in clinical practice, all supporting the view that intradermal immunization is at least as good as other immunization routes. Keeping in mind that current vaccines are not specially designed for intradermal immunization, but show comparable efficiency even at reduced dosages, this underlines the great potential for the skin as a vaccination site. Hopefully, the overview in this volume will encourage vaccine designers to focus on this promising immunization route, and in addition, to inspire them to develop vaccines that are especially optimized for intradermal immunization.

Between Pathogenicity and Commensalism

Between Pathogenicity and Commensalism
Author: Ulrich Dobrindt
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2014-07-08
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3642365604

This comprehensive, interdisciplinary book covers different aspects of relevant human pathogens and commensals. The ongoing development of (meta-)genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and bioinformatic analyses of pathogenic and commensal microorganisms and their host interaction provides a comprehensive introduction to the microbiological analysis of host-microbe interplay and its consequences for infection or commensalism.