Books on cells: from bench to clinic

Clinical scientists and their co-workers are under ever-increasing pressure from the conflicting de- mands of clinical practice and clinical research. Lack of time is a constant problem, therefore any book designed to give concise, accurate infor- mation in a format that can easily be assimilated is a boon to anyone involved in research. Human Cell Culture Protoco/s more than achieves this aim.

Cell culture protocols are often complex, in- volving the use of various media, reagents and culture techniques that change considerably de- pending on the cell line being investigated. The original report of any given method is often buried in the small print of papers and can be difficult to interpret and apply. Nowhere are such problems more acute than in the use of human cells. In bringing together practical methodologies for such a wide range of human tissues, this book has addressed a neglected area of cell culture.

Each chapter is clearly organized along simi- lar lines and is well referenced throughout. Beginning with a short introduction that places each particular subject into context, there follows a list of materials and where to find them, grouped according to specific requirements de- manded by the methods that follow. The methods are clearly headed and follow a logical sequence - and are often accompanied by helpful illus- trations Each chapter concludes with a summary and/or a notes section that contains useful ad- vice based on the experience of the subject that each author brings to the book.

Inevitably in such a book, there are differ- ences in style between authors. However, the quality is consistently high. By utilizing the ex- perience of a wide range of authors, the editors have ensured that each chapter contains enough information and advice to satisfy the novice and expert alike. However, its clear aim of targeting those less familiar with the vagaries of cell culture has been competently achieved with a pleasant lack of jargon.

The breadth of the subject matter dealt with gives this book a wide-ranging appeal and is its principal strength. Many active areas of clinical research are addressed, with chapters on culture of various epithelial, connective tissue and haemopoietic cell lines. The musculoskeletal system is covered in a series of chapters dealing with cartilage, bone and skeletal muscle. Hepatic, renal and pancreatic tissues are also covered, together with less familiar topics includ-

146

ing thymic epithelia, Langerhans cells and the conjunctiva. The use of molecular biological tech- niques applied to human genetic disorders is illus- trated with reference to gene transfer and genetic analysis of cystic fibrosis airway epithelia.

However, coverage of human nervous tissue, both neurons and glia, has been omitted. Given the difficulty of in viva study of the human ner- vous system, it is unfortunate that this area has been neglected, particularly in view of the fact that there are no good texts specifically covering human neural cell culture. Thus, the inclusion of a chapter on human foetal brain cell culture ap- pears somewhat incongruous and its coverage is necessarily superficial, with no reference to glia or neural stem cells. Similarly, the two chapters on human brain tumours concentrate almost ex- clusively on glioma, while normal glial culture and the vast amount of research into demyelination are neglected.

Despite these criticisms, this is an excellent book overall and would fill an important niche in many laboratories and libraries.

Methods in Cell Transplantation is more than just a ‘how to do it’ manual: it is an up-to- date review of the huge and rapidly expanding field of cell transplantation. This multi-author book incorporates the current state of knowledge from recognized authorities in the various fields in which cell transplantation plays a scientific and clinical role. It is clearly written, well illustrated and extensively referenced.

The book is divided into eight sections (A-H). Section A covers haemopoietic cell transplan- tation, including methodologies relating to har- vesting, preservation and clinical application, Immunosuppression, assessment of engraftment and clinical complications such as graft-versus- host disease are also addressed. In a similar way, section B deals with the harvest, utilization and post-transplant evaluation of epidermal cells.

Section C reviews the various advanced methods of gene therapy in haemopoietic, vas- cular and synovial systems, together with a re- view of the rapidly expanding field of somatic gene therapy in the brain.

Section D covers hepatic and gastrointestinal cell transplantation including the in vitroculture of primary hepatocytes for use in vivo and the role of enterocyte transplantation in the genesis of neointestinal mucosa.

The difficult area of lymphocyte immunother- apy in relation to cancer therapy is focused on in

section E. Particular attention is given to the phe- notypic and functional assessment of the lym- phocytes used in immunotherapy and their clini- cal application and follow up. Lymphocytic harvest, subset selection and culture, and micro- biological assessment are all covered in a con- cise systematic manner.

Section F describes neural and paraneural cell transplantation techniques. Cell preparation, identification and in vitro assessment before implantation are discussed, together with the behavioural assessment of graft function. Transplantation techniques in rodents and pri- mates are described and the techniques in human patients are reviewed, together with a dis- cussion of the problems of evaluating outcome in patients.

Section G concentrates on pancreatic islet cell transplantation, while section H is concerned with the preparation and transplantation of bone, muscle and cartilage.

Perhaps the greatest strength of this compre- hensive book is the opportunity it provides for the curious to learn how similar problems of harvest- ing, purification, preservation, implantation and clinical follow-up have been addressed by work- ers in apparently unrelated fields. In providing an insight into the common themes of cellular trans- plantation that bridge the boundaries of individual specialities, the various authors have undoubt- edly contributed to the inevitable expansion of this field.

Colin Watts MBBS FRCS MRC Clinical Fellow

MRC Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair, For-vie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge, UK CB2 2PY.

Tel: +44 1223 331160

Fax: +44 1223 331168 e-mail: cw2090cam.ac.uk

Copyrtght al997 Elae\ier Science Ltd. All rights raewed. 1157 4310/97/Sl7.tlO PII: S1357-431Ot97)01016-2