Molecular Immunology Basics

Author: Wang Chongqing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: This textbook is designed for undergraduate students in the Department of Biological Sciences at universities to study immunology. In recent 30-odd years, due to the rapid development of immunology, it has transitioned from an ancient discipline to an emerging one. It involves numerous disciplines within biology, such as organization, cells, physiology, biochemistry, and genetics, making it both an interdisciplinary and marginal discipline. Immunological detection techniques, with their high specificity and sensitivity, have become important tools for ultra-trace analysis in biological research and rapid, accurate, and convenient detection methods in clinical medicine. Therefore, the rising prominence of immunology in biology has determined the teaching arrangements for departments of biological sciences: shifting from a single chapter within microbiology to an independent course. This textbook was written to adapt to this development. The book consists of six chapters, including the development of immunology and its role in biology, the organizational structures and various immunologically active cells that constitute the immune system responsible for executing immune functions, the cells and complement components involved in non-specific immunity, the characteristics of antigen structure, the structure, function, and genetic regulation of antibodies, cellular immunity and its role in immune responses, various cytokines and their relationships, and finally, an introduction to the characteristics of antigen-antibody reactions and some immunological detection methods. This textbook can serve as a teaching material or reference book for undergraduate and graduate students in comprehensive universities, departments of biological sciences, and related fields, as well as for professionals working in immunology.