T Lymphocytes as Tools in Diagnostics and Immunotoxicology

✍ Scribed by Ian Kimber, Marc Pallardy (auth.), Stefan F. Martin (eds.)

• Publisher: Springer Basel
• Year: 2014
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 184
• Series: Experientia Supplementum 104
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book summarizes the state-of-the art in the development of T cell-based in vitro assays, which offer useful tools for hazard identification, risk assessment and improvement of diagnostics. It will be of interest to scientists, the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, and regulators involved in the replacement of animal testing methods.

The identification of hazardous chemicals and drugs is essential to ensuring human health. The ban on animal testing for the cosmetics industry since 2009 and international efforts to reduce and replace animal testing in research and immunotoxicology call for alternative in vitro methods. The most specific immune response to chemicals and drugs that cause allergic contact dermatitis, respiratory disease and adverse drug reactions is the highly antigen-specific T lymphocyte response. Therefore the use of T cells as tools for identifying contact allergens and drugs that may cause health problems is of great interest.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Matter....Pages i-vi
The Use of T Cells in Hazard Characterization of Chemical and Drug Allergens and Integration in Testing Strategies....Pages 1-7
Activation of the TCR Complex by Peptide-MHC and Superantigens....Pages 9-23
Activation of the TCR Complex by Small Chemical Compounds....Pages 25-39
T Cell Responses to Contact Allergens....Pages 41-49
Contact Hypersensitivity: Quantitative Aspects, Susceptibility and Risk Factors....Pages 51-71
Tools and Methods for Identification and Analysis of Rare Antigen-Specific T Lymphocytes....Pages 73-88
Human T Cell Priming Assay: Depletion of Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes in CD25 + Cells Improves the In Vitro Detection of Weak Allergen-Specific T Cells....Pages 89-100
Correlation of Contact Sensitizer Potency with T Cell Frequency and TCR Repertoire Diversity....Pages 101-114
On the Role of Co-inhibitory Molecules in Dendritic Cell: T Helper Cell Coculture Assays Aimed to Detect Chemical-Induced Contact Allergy....Pages 115-135
T Cell Responses to Drugs and Drug Metabolites....Pages 137-163
Hypersensitivity Reactions to Beta-lactams....Pages 165-184

✦ Subjects

Molecular Medicine; Immunology; Laboratory Medicine