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In this book, a group of internationally distinguished lymphoma experts provide a comprehensive review of the most important advances in the biology, diagnosis, and therapy of T cell and NK cell malignancies. In particular, it demonstrates in detail how advances in our understanding of the tumor microenvironment and molecular biology have helped to elucidate the pathogenesis of these lymphomas, improve diagnostic and prognostic accuracy, and develop novel therapies that promise improved patient outcomes. Individual chapters are devoted to particular tumor types and subtypes, and all aspects of transplantation for patients with T cell and NK cell lymphomas are discussed. As such, the book offers a valuable resource for hematologists, oncologists, hematopathologists, and all those seeking an up-to-date overview of how new, targeted therapies are delivering better disease control and improved quality of life.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the discovery of Natural Killer (NK) cells, this volume focuses on the recent advances in our understanding of NK cell development and differentiation and their acquisition of functional properties, as well as the latest models for NK-cell analysis in mice and applications in clinical medicine. NK cells have travelled a circuitous path from their initial description as ‘spontaneous killers'(for some simply an experimental artifact) to being a bona fide subset of innate lymphoid cells with a complementary mode of action in immune defense and an important mediator of immune reactivity in health and disease. Together, these reviews provide a timely and concise picture of the evolution of NK cells as essential agents in immunity and as potent weapons against disease. This book offers an appealing and insightful resource for scientists and clinicians.

This book will cover primary roles of NKT cells in immunity to cancer, in both mouse tumor models and cancer patients. There are several chapters describing general aspects of NKT cells.

This book shows how the structural similarity of MIRRs determines the general principles underlying MIRR-mediated transmembrane signaling mechanisms. In so doing, it provides the basis for existing and future therapeutic strategies targeting MIRRs.

The existence of a unique kind of immune cell – the killer lymphocyt- which destroys other cells in a highly specific manner, has fascinated immunologists for almost half a century. How do these cells, whose precursors have lived in communal harmony with their host, decide that some of their cohabitants must die? And how do they kill them? The definition of killer lymphocytes came from discovery of their roles in a wide range of in vivo phenomena such as transplant rejection, virus infection and its related immunopathologies, and anti-tumor responses. Yet for the most part almost everything we know about these cells has come from studying them in vitro. They have yielded their secrets slowly and reluctantly. To understand fully how they work, geneticists and immunologists had to unravel the major histocompatibility systems of vertebrates, a long and torturous road that provided some of the darkest hours of immunology. The search for antigen-sensing receptors on both T cells and NK cells was scarcely less frustrating. And the holy grail of ce- mediated cytotoxicity – defining the mechanism by which killer cells take down their adversaries – sorely tested the ingenuity, patience and mutual good will of laboratories around the world. These questions have now largely been answered. But do we really understand these cells? We can tame them to a large degree in transplant rejection. It may yet turn out that we can harness their immunotherapeutic potential in treating viral and malignant disease.

In Natural Killer Cell Protocols: Cellular and Molecular Methods, Kerry S. Campbell and Marco Colonna have assembled a comprehensive collection of readily reproducible methods designed to study natural killer (NK) cells from the broadest variety of viewpoints. These include not only classic techniques, but also new approaches to standard methods, newly evolved techniques that have become valuable for specific applications, and unique models for manipulating and studying NK cells. Among the advanced methods covered are those for in vitro transendothelial migration, in vivo detection of cells migrating into tumors, immunofluorescence staining of intracellular cytokines, and in vitro NK cell development. Valuable techniques for specific applications include vaccinia virus protein expression, soluble KIR-Fc fusions for HLA class I binding assays, calcium mobilization in cell conjugates, and identification of heterodimeric receptor complexes using cDNA library expression cloning. No less important are accounts of such classic methods as hybrid resistance, ADCC, viral defense, target cell cytotoxicity assays, cloning and culturing, tumor immunotherapy, and generation of HLA class I transfected target cells. Natural Killer Cell Protocols: Cellular and Molecular Methods offers immunologists, cancer researchers, virologists, and cell biologists today's most comprehensive collection of both established and cutting-edge techniques, methods that will contribute significantly to advancing our understanding of this fascinating and critically important class of cells.

Natural Cell-Mediated Immunity Against Tumors aims to be the first book to provide a comprehensive discussion on natural cell-mediated immunity against tumors. This book is mostly a collection of different research contributed by leading laboratories. It also presents a better perspective of how natural mechanisms fit in with and relate to the traditional and more extensively studied components of the immune system. The book starts off with an overview of the contents of the volume – the historical development of the advances in the field of research and the status of knowledge in the subject area. Divided into four major sections, the book consists of a total of 98 chapters. The sections discuss the natural killer cells and related cells and the natural lymphokine production. This book also explains the natural macrophage and granulocyte cytotoxicity. The book will be a helpful reference for students, professionals, and researchers in biology, immunology, biochemistry, microbiology, and other related fields.

Natural killer (NK) cells have been the subject of intense investigation. Only in recent years, however, could the molecular mechanisms by which they lyse tumor or virus-infected cells but spare normal cells be elucidated. NK cells express different specialized receptors (NK-R) specific for major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules. These MHC molecules exert an inhibitory effect on NK cells, i.e. lack of expression of one or more MHC class I alleles - a common event in tumor or virus-infected cells - leads to NK-mediated target cell lysis. Recently, NK-type receptors have also been identified in a subset of T lymphocytes. MHC/NK-R interaction causes inhibition of T cell activation and functions, an observation which suggests a role for these receptors in the negative control of T cell responses. This volume offers a complete and updated review of the signal transduction and functions of NK cells, as well as their roles in transplantation, anti-tumor response and infectious diseases. Written by experienced investigators, who have contributed significantly to progress in the field, this collection of reviews will be a valuable resource for basic and clinical immunologists, hematologists, oncologists and virologists.