Molecular Aspects of Innate and Adaptive Immunity

This book brings together central themes covering proteins of the immune system with special emphasis on the protein chemistry of the system.

Professor Kenneth BM Reid FRS, is Director at the MRC Immunochemistry Unit, Department of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford. Professor Reid is also a Fellow of the European Molecular Biology Organisation and is a Founder member of the Academy of Medical Sciences. In addition to being a member of many prestigious journal editorial boards, he is also the author of over 290 full-length scientific publications, over the period 1967- 2007, dealing with structure-function relationships of proteins of the human serum complement system and analysis of proteins of innate immunity in the lung surfactant. Since 1970 he has carried out research on the structures and functions of components of the human serum complement system and a major focus of his present research includes the analysis of the roles mammalian lectins SP-A and SP-D, as molecules of innate immunity, in the modulation of inflammation, induced by allergy or infection, in the lungs. Dr Robert B Sim is at the MRC Immunochemistry Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford. Dr Sim has had about 270 papers published since 1975, plus about 300 meetings abstracts and his main research interests are the activation and regulation of the complement system studied at the molecular level.