Maternofoetal Transmission of Immunoglobulins

This book represents a collection of papers presented by a group of leading vertebrate embryologists. Ciba Foundation Symposia have a well-deserved reputation for announcing the most advanced results in a field and the present volume is no exception. The last ten years have seen research in embryogenesis advance across a broad front and the papers published here survey the whole field. A central problem in embryogenesis and in developmental biology as a whole is that of determination, and it receives much discussion. Determination at the blasto-cyst and early implantation stages is analysed by Gardner, 9kreb and others. The former summarizes previous research and presents his own conclusions on how the developmental capacities of cells in the mouse blastocyst are gradually restricted. Other papers discuss the progressive determination of germ layers, rates of growth, and cell division. The role of cell migration in forming neural crest cell derivatives in birds is ably considered by Le Douarin, who describes new results using her ingenious inter-specific grafting techniques. It appears that cells are determined and differentiated as a function of their final position after migration. Another group of papers is more biochemically and genetically oriented and deals with the effects of normal and abnormal gene expression on mouse embryogenesis. Chapman's studies on the inter-strain differences in expression of,-glucuronidase, and Spiegelman's electron microscope study of T locus mutants are particularly impressive. The immunological aspects of embryogenesis are considered by Edidin who describes the appearance of H-2 antigens on the embryo. Apparently these are not expressed in the early stages of embryogenesis; cells with embryonic properties such as teratorma cells show the same deficiency. In attempting to cover such a broad field any collection of papers is likely to suffer from fragmentation. This problem is combated here by the publication after each paper of a lengthy discussion involving all who participated in the symposium. These stimulating discussions make a good book even more valuable. An understanding of embryogenesis is vital for medicine as well as biology and since studies on human beings are frequently impossible for ethical reasons, doctors as well as pure scientists can learn much from the sort of research described here. This is the second in a continuing series titled "Clinical and Experimental Immun-oreproduction." The present volume is a collection of papers presented at a meeting held in Bangor, Wales, by an international group of scientists. The intricacies of the immunomanipulation necessary …