Advances in Immunology

The present work corresponds to a compilation of independent contributions in the fields of endocrinology, immunity, cancer, neurobiology, and myology. Revision of current advances as well as novel findings in the form of original articles are presented in a balanced fashion. The book has been divided into three sections in line with the main subject: Molecular pathology of immune, inflammatory, and hemostatic disorders; Molecular pathology of endocrine and muscular disorders; and Molecular pathology of cancer: determinants and potential therapies. In the first section, contributing authors take the reader through the molecular pathology of immune responses, inflammation, and hemostasis, by collating an update on systemic autoimmune diseases, the therapeutic potential of statins in hemostasis, the effects of adrenergic stimulation on coagulation, the emerging field of physical burnout due to the mobility restrictions in response to the 2020 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic imposed worldwide, and the success of community-oriented muscular kinesic rehabilitation. The second section presents engaging results from a survey of iodine intake through the diet of pregnant females, an appraisal of the neuroprotective effect of dexmedetomidine, novel evidence on muscle physiopathology, describing the upregulation of CCL5/RANTES during cholestatic liver disease, the fibrotic response emerging in response to cholic and deoxycholic acids, and the altering effects of bile acids in autophagy and mitogenesis.

Immunologists, perhaps understandably, most often concentrate on the human immune system, an anthropocentric focus that has resulted in a dearth of information about the immune function of all other species within the animal kingdom. However, knowledge of animal immune function could help not only to better understand human immunology, but perhaps more importantly, it could help to treat and avoid the blights that affect animals, which consequently affect humans.

Immunologists, perhaps understandably, most often concentrate on the human immune system, an anthropocentric focus that has resulted in a dearth of information about the immune function of all other species within the animal kingdom. However, knowledge of animal immune function could help not only to better understand human immunology, but perhaps more importantly, it could help to treat and avoid the blights that affect animals, which consequently affect humans.

Recent advances in understanding of fundamental immunology have created new insights into the dynamic interactions between tumors and the immune system. This includes new understanding of T- and B-cell interaction, immune inhibitory mechanisms including the biology of T regulatory cells, myeloid suppressor cells, and dendritic cell subsets.