Neuroimmunoendocrinology

The explosion of information on immuneneuroendocrine interactions has continued unabated since the first and second editions of this volume appeared in 1988 and 1992. This third revised and enlarged edition offers an authoritative update on the latest advances in knowledge of the molecular, structural, and cellular bases of bidirectional communication between the immune and neuroendocrine systems. The eight invited chapters review current evidence that the immune system produces and responds to neuroendocrine peptide hormones and neurotransmitters; that the nervous system produces and responds to cytokines; that the immune system can regulate the neuroendocrine system and vice versa; that the immune system is innervated, and that the neuroendocrine and immune systems share a set of hormone and cytokine receptors. All chapters and bibliographies from the second edition have been expanded to include the most recent literature in these areas. In addition, the text provides a new chapter which is the first to compare the three-dimensional structures of cytokines and hormones complexed with their receptors. As the only text to provide an up-to-the-minute account of the cellular, molecular and structural mechanisms of communication between the immune and neuroendocrine systems, this well-written volume will be of interest to many scientists in the fields of immunology, endocrinology, physiology, neuroscience and structural biology, and will also be a valuable resource for clinicians.