Adhesion in Leukocyte Homing and Differentiation Book

This book presents the current knowledge on the structure and function of the major families of cell adhesion molecules, the integrins, the selectins,the immunoglobulins superfamily and CD44, concentrating on their role in the immune system. Complex interactions between the members of these families mediate diverse adhesion functions, including leukocyte-leukocyte interactions, lymphocyte homing,
inflammation, and lymphocyte-stromal cell interaction during homopoiesis. A great deal of emphasis is placed on the regulatory elements that control the expression and function of adhesion molecules: Cytokines not only induce the expression of certain adhesion molecules, but may also modify their functional status.
A number of chapters discuss the migration of lymphocytes between hemopoietic organs such as the thymus, lymph nodes,
Peyer's patches and spleen, and other chapters focus on the changes in leukocyte migration during an inflammatory response. In summary, this book introduces new aspects of cell adhesion on the molecular and biological level.