Immunobiology of Carbohydrates is unique in providing pertinent information on the various established roles carbohydrate play in the immune system and how the innate and adaptive immune systems respond to this type of microbial antigens.

The editors selected only topics that have established basic and clinical relevance to this field. The topics from basic research are organised like a textbook, in order to guide the readers through complex sets of events that lead to clearance of or to immune responses toward carbohydrate antigens.

It is clear, concise and contains fully annotated summaries of the key basic and practical information on carbohydrate immunology from current literature. These topics are written by investigators from various disciplines (chemistry, medicine, biochemistry, glycobiology and immunology), creating a fine balance in the point of views presented in the book.

Immunobiology of Carbohydratesexplores the challenges and rewards of understanding the importance of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates in health and disease, applying new knowledge from carbohydrate immunology in improving or developing novel sugar-based therapeutics, and vaccines and medicines.

Immunobiology of Carbohydrates is most suitable for glycobiologists and immunologists, but many researchers whose interests, background and expertise are in any of the fifteen topics presented in this book will also find it appealing. It is also a valuable resource for postgraduate students, clinicians or anyone else who is curious about the role of carbohydrates in immunology, and would like to see the topics combined under one cover and in relation to each other.

Contents

1. Carbohydrate Blood Group Antigens and Tumor Antigens
2. Structural Basis for Mannose-Binding Protein Function in Innate Immunity
3. C-Reactive Protein: Structure, Synthesis, and Function
4. Complement: A Major Humoral Effector System in Innate and Acquired Immunity
5. Carbohydrate Recognition Receptors on Antigen Presenting Cells
6. Toll-Like Receptor: Specificity and Signaling
7. C-Type Lecitin and Lecitin-Like Receptors in the Immune System
8. The Sialic Acid-Binding Siglec Family
9. Antibody Responses to Polysaccharides
10. CD1-Restricted T Cell Responses against Microbial Glycolipids
11. Processing and Presentation of Glycoproteins in the MHC Class I and II Antigen Presentation Pathways
12. Chemical Synthesis of Bacterial Carbohydrates
13. Challenges and Opportunities in the Development of New Conjugate Vaccines against Infectious Diseases
14. Carbohydrate-Based Targets and Vehicles for Cancer and Infectious Diseases Vaccines
15. The Interaction between Anti-Gal and the Gal Epitope As an Immunologic Barrier to Xenotransplantation

Index

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