Tumour Immunobiology

The idea that the immune system may play a role in protecting against malignant disease is not new. Since the earliest days of immunology research, scientists have sought to understand the mechanisms by which the host immune system might recognize cancer cells, and to manipulate these responses for therapeutic gain. It has become clear that the key to immune recognition of tumours lies in the relationship between cells in the microenvironment of the tumour itself. This volume provides a collection of techniques for establishing tumour cell lines, testing their immunogenicity, and characterizing the major effector cells, leading to protocols for manipulating antibody and T-cell receptor structure, preparing cytokine-secreting tumour cells and testing the efficiency of these new agents in preventing tumour growth. Researchers in immunology as a whole in addition to those interested in cancer immunology should find "Tumour Immunobiology: A Practical Approach" to be a useful practical resource.

Table of Contents:
Preparation of tumour cell-lines, A.P. Wilson; asssessment of the immunogenicity of tumour models, F.R. Miller, et al; flow cytometry of lymphocytes and tumour cells, J. Lawry; (glyco-) protein antigens and peptide epitopes of tumours, M.R. Price; isolation and characterization of natural killer cells, T. Timonen, et al; isolation and characterization of mononuclear phagocytes, L.J. Partridge and I. Dransfield; T-cells - proliferative and cytotoxic responses, R.A. Robins; cloning and propagation of human T lymphocytes, G. Pawelec; assocation of TCR expression with MHC recognition, S.L. Hand, et al; cytokines - identification and measurement to gene activation, F.S. di Giovine, et al; cytokine bioassay, F.P. Winstanley; strategies for the production of human monoclonal antibodies, M. Kurpisz and G. Wilson; radiolabelling antibodies for imaging and targeting, M.V. Pimm and S.J. Gibbon; preparation of multispecific F(ab) and F(ab) antibody derivatives, M.J. Glennie, et al; construction and expression of Ig fusion proteins, M.S. Hayden, et al; reshaping human monoclonal antibodies for "in vivo" diagnosis and therapy, M.E. Verhoeyen; single-chain Fvs, M. Whitlow and D. Filpula; engineering cytokine-secreting tumour cells, P.M. Patel, et al; "ex vivo" activation of effector cells, K.E. Platts; genetic imortalization of human lymphocytes using retroviral vectors, C. Darnsbrough; modifying the specificity of T cells using chimeric Ig/TCR genes, Z. Eshhar, et al; the use of pre-clinical rodent models for cancer immunotherapy, R.B. Wiltrout; use of the tumour spheroid model in immunotherapy, I.E. Grcia de Palazzo, et al; characterization of metastatic tumour cells, U.P. Thorgeirsson and A.R. Mackay.