BOOK REVIEWS 709

sented in this series before. Nevertheless, this less-than- comprehensive coverage makes the present volumes less valuable. Indeed, even within the ground rules laid out by the editors, the choice of topics is somewhat puzzling. For example, the coverage of nerve growth factor in- cludes a chapter on the immunoassay, but no discussion ofeither the classic halo assay or anything beyond a refer- ence to the newer, very useful PC12 assay. There is no chapter describing the large body of interesting work on the NGF receptor. One might say that the Table of Con- tents of these volumes is more reminiscent of a sympo- sium volume than it is of the customary robust coverage found in previous volumes of Methods.

Another disturbing aspect is the appearance in at least one of the chapters of material not apparently published before in a refereed journal. The search for active peptide fragments of the various growth factors has been pursued in several different laboratories. Success in finding such fragments for any of the growth factors could have sub- stantial clinical and commercial significance. It is re- ported in the chapter on Bone Morphogenetic Protein that such active fragments have been produced and methods for their production are described. It appears, however, that this material is not available in the general literature. It seems inappropriate, if this is true, to allow the presentation of such material in an archival form such as Methods in Enzymology before it has withstood the scrutiny of normal journal peer review.

All that having been said, these volumes contain valu- able material. They are published technically in the usual excellent Methods in Enzymology style. For groups working in growth factor research, there are certainly many contributions that will merit careful and thorough reading and rereading. It almost goes without saying that these books should find their way to the shelves oflabora- tories involved in this area of science.

GORDON GUROFF National Institute of Child Health and Human

Development National Institutes of Health

Methods in Enzymology, Vol. 150, Immunochemical Techniques, Part K, Za Vitro Models of B and T Cell Functions and Lymphoid Cell Receptors. Edited by GIOVANNI DI SABATO, Academic Press, Orlando, FL, 1987.823 pp, $89.00.

Volume 150 of the Methods in Enzymology lmmuno- chemical Techniques series would make a valuable addi- tion to the bookshelves of any laboratory involved in cel- lular immunology, regardless of its orientation. With the exception of hybridoma technology, which is covered in detail in Vol. 12 I, this volume provides detailed descrip- tions of most of the commonly used, and many less fa- miliar, techniques of modem cellular immunology. For most in wilro studies, this book would be the natural start- ing point for researchers wishing to adapt established, but unfamiliar, techniques to their own particular studies.

The volume is divided into three sections: I. Methods for stimulation of lymphocytes, II. In vitro models and as- says of B and T lymphocyte differentiation and function, and III. Receptors on lymphoid cells. In fact there is much overlap between the sections, and often a particu- lar technique is not addressed in a chapter where you might expect to find it. However, an excellent index sec- tion makes it relatively easy to locate most topics of in- terest.

Section I contains excellent chapters on lectin stimula- tions of lymphocytes and detailed descriptions of proce- dures for measuring stimulation. The chapter (5) on stimulation oflymphocytes with anti-receptor antibodies deals mainly with B cells, and it might have been useful to have included a separate chapter on the stimulation of T cells with monoclonal antibodies. In addition there are several interesting chapters in section I on the stimula- tion of lymphocytes by less familiar techniques, for ex- ample, by proteolytic enzymes, zinc ions, and oxidative mitogenesis. Section II begins with an extensive intro- duction to mouse genetics by J. Klein and D. Klein and contains detailed descriptions of procedures for cloning murine and human T cells and for measuring B cell plaques. There are also several other useful chapters in this section dealing with such topics as B cell cloning, culture, and purification. Although most investigators will find this a highly useful section, it would have been improved by a chapter on antigen presentation. Finally section Ill contains chapters on most aspects of lym- phoid cell surface receptors, including measurements of ligand binding, detection and quantitation of receptors, isolation of receptors, and cloning and sequencing of re- ceptor genes. The first part deals mainly with techniques; there are chapters on the isolation and covalent labeling of receptors, and my colleagues and I have written a chapter on the measurement of cell surface receptors by flow cytometry. Other chapters deal with ultracentrifuga- tion and ESR spectroscopy in the study of lymphoid cell receptors, two procedures not commonly used by immu- nologists, but which could see added use in the future. The latter part of section Ill deals with specific receptors, i.e., T cell receptors, Fc, and Fc, receptors, IL-2 recep- tors, various complement receptors, E rosette receptors (CD2), and virus receptors. This field is progressing very rapidly and, although many important lymphocyte re- ceptors have not been considered, the technology de- scribed in this section should be applicable to the study of most cell surface components.

There really are very few books dealing with immuno- logical techniques that provide as much detail as Vol. 150 of Methods in Enzymology. Because the field of immu- nology draws upon a wide variety of disciplines, the num- ber of procedures used by immunologists is vast. This book does a good job of bringing together many, and probably most, ofthe methods used by immunologists in 1988.

DAVID SEGAL The National Cancer Institute