Immunity

A leading figure in immunology takes readers inside the remarkably powerful human immune system. Winner of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title of the Choice ACRL The immune system has incredible power to protect us from the ravages of infection. Boosted by vaccines, it can protect us from diseases such as measles. However, the power of the immune system is a double-edged sword: an overactive immune system can wreak havoc, destroying normal tissue and causing diseases such as type I diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. The consequences of an impaired immune system, on the other hand, are all too evident in the agonies of AIDS. Packed with illustrations, stories from Dr. William E. Paul’s distinguished career, and fascinating accounts of scientific discovery, Immunity presents the three laws of the human immune system—universality, tolerance, and appropriateness—and explains how the system both protects and harms us. From the tale of how smallpox was overcome and the lessons of the Ebola epidemic to the hope that the immune system can be used to treat or prevent cancer, Dr. Paul argues that we must take advantage of cutting-edge technologies and promising new tools in immunological research.

Table of Contents:
Preface Part One 1. Defense and Danger 2. Tracing an Immune Response 3. The Laws of Immunology 4. Growing Up and Learning Immunology Part Two 5. Vaccines and Serum Therapy 6. How Is Specificity Achieved? 7. Immunology's "Eureka" 8. How Does Each Lymphocyte Develop a Distinct Receptor? 9. B Cells and T Cells Recognize Different Types of Antigens 10. My Foray into the Specificity Problem 11. Genes and Immune Responses 12. The Laboratory of Immunology and the T-Cell Receptor Part Three 13. What Is Tolerance? 14. How Does Tolerance Develop? 15. Regulatory T Cells and the Prevention of Autoimmunity Part Four 16. Different Structures, Different Functions 17. Specific Types of Infections, Specific Types of T-Cell Responses 18. Our Discovery of IL-4 and the Cells That Make It 19. CD8 T Cells 20. Dendritic Cells Part Five 21. An "Ancient" Immune Response Controls" Modern" Immunity 22. The Microbiome and Innate Immunity 23. Evolution of the Immune System and Innate Lymphoid Cells Part Six 24. The HIV Epidemic and the Office of AIDS Research 25. How the Immune System Causes Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus 26. Allergy and Asthma 27. Interleukin-4 and Allergy 28. Can the Immune System Control Cancer? 29. New Parts for Old 30. Julien Conclusion Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes Index

About the Author :
William E. Paul, MD (1936–2015) was the chief of the Laboratory of Immunology at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. He received his medical degree from the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. A past president of the American Association of Immunologists and the American Society for Clinical Investigation, he was also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and its Institute of Medicine and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Review :
An excellent overview of what science knows about immunology today. —Science-Based Medicine Written by a prominent researcher and scholar who not only followed the history of immunology but also participated in its creation, Immunity could be considered as an excellent summary of the classical, pre-systemic, immunological era. —Metascience It is well written, informative and gives detailed descriptions even down to defining platelets—sometimes we make the assumption that individuals know these details but the author has pre-empted this and provided ample explanations, which in essence will widen his audience . . . I would recommend this book to students, healthcare assistants, clinicians, and nurse specialists working within all areas. —Nursing Times [Immunity] is a remarkably clear, concise, well-written, and well-organized presentation of the components and interactions of the multiple parts of the immune system as it functions to protect the body from disease or foreign agents when functioning properly—or cause disease when malfunctioning . . . Written for the general public and for potential students of immunology, it could also serve as an accompanying text for any immunology course . . . Essential. —R. S. Kowalczyk, University of Michigan, Choice