Cytokines and Chemokines in Infectious Diseases
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48
December 2004
Various Authors: Edited by Malak Kotb and Thierry Calandra. Humana Press 2003. ISBN 0-89603908-0. Price $145.00 (Source: Humana Press). Reviewed by Adam K. A. Wright The discovery of the cytokine Interferon in 1957 through the combined efforts of Alik Isaacs and Jean Lindenmann heralded a new and complex field. The plethora of cytokines and chemokines being characterised continues to grow and each time sheds an important light on the orchestration of the immune response. Since the beginnings of immunology were stirred up from the ‘golden era’ of microbiology, the development of cytokine biology has ensured that their paths will remain tied together. It is now impossible to study the pathogenesis of infectious diseases without a good knowledge of the human (Immune) response to infection and colonisation and this includes cytokine responses. As with many biological processes, separating material into sections to make it more palatable for digestion is a difficult process. Many textbooks dealing with micro-organisms, for example, have either opted for a taxonomical approach or one that perhaps takes a medical viewpoint, dividing the information into organ systems. Malak Kotb and Thierry Calandra (Editors) have taken the former approach, writing a book that represents the interface of immunology and microbiology. An excellent introduction by Charles Dinarello sets the scene, filling a gap in this complex field. He briefly discusses the very cytokines that are relevant to infectious disease then the advantages and disadvantages of using knockout mouse models, before moving on to polymicrobial sepsis as an experimental model. Sepsis becomes a recurrent theme throughout the book and perhaps for good reason. Sepsis and its resultant syndrome still demonstrate mortality rates (30-50%) that have not changed much in the preceding decades, despite the best supportive care available. www.sfam.org.uk