Interleukins are a family of proteins that regulate the maturation, diff- entiation, or activation of cells involved in immunity and inflammation, and belong to a broader family termed cytokines. Collectively these proteins are the key orchestrators of host defense and the response to tissue injury. There are currently 23 different interleukins (numbered from IL-1 to IL-23), although the full extent of the interleukin family will only become clear upon analysis of the human genome sequence. Most important, interleukins are central to the pathogenesis of a wide range of diseases that involve an immune com- nent, including such conditions as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, and asthma. Interleukins have also been imp- cated in other conditions, including cancer, migraine, myocardial infarction, and depression. In essence, when cells are activated by interleukins, a program of gene expression is initiated in the target cell that alters the cell's phenotype, leading to enhanced immune reactivity, inflammation, and/or proliferation. Interleukins are therefore at the core of the cellular basis for many diseases. They are the subject of intense investigation by biomedical researchers and the targeting or use of interleukins in the clinic is proceeding apace. Approaches such as t- geting IL-4 in asthma or IL-1 in joint disease are being pursued, and it is likely that in the next 5-10 years a number of new therapies based on either inhib- ing or administering interleukins will be available. Interleukins, a family of proteins that regulate immunity and inflammation throughout the body, are also involved in autoimmune disease (rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and asthma); are implicated in such other conditions as cancer, myocardial infarction, and depression; and have value in the diagnosis and prognosis of many diseases. Luke O'Neill and Andrew Bowie bring together in Interleukin Protocols a collection of standard and advanced methods for measuring these powerful agents. Their readily reproducible techniques range from the assay of interleukin protein and mRNA-using ELISA, FACS, and RT-PCR-to the study of interleukin signal transduction. Newer techniques are also covered, including the analysis of interleukin gene polymorphisms and the use of cDNA microarrays. Many of the assays are geared to specific pathologies, including breast cancer, depression, psoriasis, Grave's disease, migraine, and myocardial infarction. There are also helpful discussions of the difficulties in measuring interleukins in different biological fluids, such as sputum from asthma patients, peritoneal fluids, synovial fluid from arthritic joints, and cerbrospinal fluid from patients with meningitis. Each step-by-step method is described by a hands-on expert and includes notes on how to avoid failure.
Comprehensive and highly practical, Interleukin Protocols offers biomedical investigators a stellar collection of all the major techniques needed to analyze the role of interleukins in disease, to improve diagnosis, and to foster the rapid emergence of new and more powerful therapeutics. "this volume offers protocols for measurement of various interleukins. Most are of sufficient detail so as to serve as a laboratory guide for investigators. Investigators with a specific interest in analyzing a given interleukin will find this volume helpful. "-Doody's Health Sciences Book Review Journal

"Comprehensive and highly practical, Interleukin Protocols offers biomedical investigators a stellar collection of all the major techniques needed to analyze the role of interleukins in disease, to improve diagnosis, and to foster the rapid emergence of new and more powerful therapeutics." - Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical immunology

"A variety of techniques is represented in 36 chapters which are written in a concise, uniform format b y authors who obviously have a lot of hands-on experience with the methods covered...If you are working in this area, put this book on a shelf in the lab and it will not be just recently started graduate students who will gracefully turn to it. - Chembiochem

"The protocols that are described in the book are user friendly, in the sense that they are not only well detailed and easy to follow but also reliable. The researchers that are naive in the field will find a lot of useful information in the book whereas the experienced ones will be able to use the book as a source of additional information on the methods already in use. A must therefore for the psychoneuroendocrinologist with a working interest in the relationships between the (neuroendocrine) brain and the immune system." -Psychoneuroendocriniology