Natural and Induced Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity

Book excerpt: Natural and Induced Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity: Effector and Regulatory Mechanisms contains the proceedings of the Erwin Riesch Symposium organized on the occasion of the Fifth Centennial of the University of Tübingen in Germany on October 20-23, 1977. The symposium provided a forum for reviewing the progress that has been made in understanding the effector and regulatory mechanisms underlying natural and induced cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Topics covered range from the immunobiology of natural killer cells to the role of macrophages as regulator, accessory, and effector cells in cytotoxicity. Comprised of 27 chapters, this book begins by analyzing the characteristics of natural cytotoxic cells in mice, followed by a discussion on the generation in vivo of mouse natural cytotoxic cells and the role of cytotoxic T cells in the local defense against solid tumors. Subsequent chapters focus on the natural cytotoxicity of human lymphocytes; opposing effects of interferon on natural killer and target cells; susceptibility of cloned melanoma to natural cytotoxicity; and cell-mediated immunity against avian virus-induced tumor cells. The book also examines alternative routes of entry for cell surface antigens into the immune system before concluding with a chapter that considers interferon induction by Corynebacterium parvum. This monograph should be of value to students, researchers, and practitioners in the fields of biology and immunology.