This book explores the major cytokines, such as IL-1 and IFN-γ, with respect to the regulation of their gene expression and protein production in specific immune cell types. It discusses both healthy physiological settings and in pathological situations in which the expression of some cytokines could be dysregulated, resulting in either immunodeficiency or exacerbated inflammatory sequelae in animal models as well as in human patients. Cytokines are important regulators of immune responses that require the highly coordinated participation and communication of multiple cell types. The expression of cytokines by various producer cell types is therefore carefully regulated in response to environmental cues at multiple levels: transcription, translation and posttranslational modification. Presentingcutting-edge advances in our understanding of the regulation of cytokine expression, this book is a valuable resource for anyone involved or interested in immune regulation.

 

Dr. Xiaojing Ma is a professor from Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medical College, USA. He is also the chair professor and associate dean of School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He serves as the associate editor of The Journal of Immunology, and is in the editorial board of several international journals, such as The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Annual Review of Biomedical Science and Cellular and Molecular Immunology. His research focuses on molecular regulation of cytokine gene expression and their immunological activities in inflammatory diseases, and he has published more than 80 research articles on top journals in this field.