Neuroimmunology

Neuroimmunology could be defined as the application of immunological methods to problems in neurobiology but such a definition is so all encompassing as to be unhelpful. It is not a precisely circumscribed discipline but it seems worthwhile at the outset to point to three of the major areas of activity. One rather early use of the term was in connection with studies on the immune response to antigens in the nervous system. This includes topics such as autoimmunity in the central and peripheral nervous sys tems, the response to neural tumors or viral infections, and the im munopathology of such processes. Although not at the forefront of the currently fashionable preoccupation with neuroimmunology, this area continues to be a vital and interesting one from both clinical and basic perspectives. A second very active area is the exploitation of antibodies to iden tified components of neural cells, and in particular to those molecules involved as neurotransmitters, in transmitter synthesis and breakdown, and as synaptic receptors. The immunohistochemical detection of these antigens has led to new insights into the functional organization of the nervous system, and reference to such studies is almost a sz'ne qua non for discussions of most central and peripheral synapses.

Contenu

1. Immunology of the Neuromuscular Junction.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Structure of the Neuromuscular Junction.- 3. Antibodies to Presynaptic Element.- 4. Antibodies to Components of the Synaptic Cleft.- 5. Antibodies to the Acetylcholine Receptor.- 6. Antibodies to Subsynaptic Structures.- 7. Conclusion.- 8. References.- 2. Monoclonal Antibodies to Skeletal Muscle Cell Surface.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Regulation of Acetylcholine Receptors.- 3. Skeletal Muscle Acetylcholinesterases57.- 4. Monoclonal Antibodies.- 5. Discussion.- 6. References.- 3. Monoclonal Antibodies to Synaptic Contituents.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Preparation of Synaptic Junctions and Hybridoma Antibodies.- 3. Antibodies That Show Localized Binding in the Brain.- 4. Summary and Discussion.- 5. References.- 4. Analysis of Functional Cell Sets in the Immune System.- 1. T-Cell Sets.- 2. Functional Roles for Lyt Antigens.- 3. T-Cell Clones.- 4. References.- 5. Immunopathologic Disease of the Central Nervous System.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Immunopathologic Injury of the CNS: General Concepts.- 3. Blood Flow and the Traffic of Immunoglobulin and Lymphoid Cells in the CNS.- 4. Models Depicting Immunopathologically Mediated Injury of the CNS.- 5. Conclusion.- 6. References.- 6. The Use of Antibodies to Define and Study Major Cell Types in the Central and Peripheral Nervous System.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Development of Specific Marker Systems for Identifying the Major Cell Types in Nervous System Cultures.- 3. Monoclonal Antibodies.- 4. Applications.- 5. Conclusions.- 6. References.- 7. Immunological Studies of the Retina.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Production of Monoclonal Antibodies.- 3. Monoclonal Antibodies That Label Photoreceptors.- 4. Monoclonal Antibodies That Label Müller Cells.- 5. Discussion.- 6. References.- 8.Immunological Analysis of Cellular Heterogeneity in the Cerebellum.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Glial Markers.- 3. Neuronal Markers.- 4. Concluding Remarks.- 5. References.