Retroviruses [Hardcover]

John M. Coffin (Editor), Stephen H. Hughes (Editor), Harold E. Varmus (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0879694971 | ISBN-13: 978-0879694975 | Edition: 1st

For over 25 years the study of retroviruses has underpinned much of what is known about information transfer in cells and the genetic and biomechanisms that underlie cell growth and cancer induction. Emergent diseases such as AIDS and adult T-cell lymphona have widened even further the community of investigators directly concerned with retroviruses, a development that has highlighted the need for an integrated understanding of their biology and their unique association with host genomes. This volume aims to satisfy that need.

Editorial Reviews

From The New England Journal of Medicine

Retrovirology is a mature yet rapidly evolving field, and this excellent book provides a very complete approach, integrating all the scientific aspects of the topic except epidemiology. Retrovirology started with the discovery at the turn of the century of tumor-associated viruses in chickens and continued with the identification of other tumor-associated viruses in a variety of animals, including mammals. At the beginning of the 1960s, progress in the study of cultured cells revealed that, although retroviruses have an RNA genome, they have replication and transformation properties that set them apart from other single-stranded RNA viruses, such as poliovirus. At that time, Howard Temin had the intuition that RNA tumor viruses must transfer their genetic information by way of a DNA intermediate. This led to the discovery of the virally encoded enzyme reverse transcriptase, which copies RNA into DNA. This reverse flow of genetic information, which contradicted the Central Dogma (that DNA makes RNA, which in turn makes protein) is characteristic of retroviruses (hence their name) and has since been found to contribute substantially to the genetic remodeling that is part of evolution. Techniques based on reverse transcription and progress in viral genetics were soon applied to the study of viral oncogenesis, which led to the finding that viral oncogenes are derived from cellular precursors. This unexpected result opened new perspectives for the understanding of cancer and of events that are key to the differentiation of cells and the development of organisms.

In the early 1980s, after more than 70 years of unsuccessful searching, hunters of human retroviruses finally identified the first human retrovirus, human T-cell leukemia virus. Shortly thereafter, the last dramatic change in retrovirology was driven not by a scientific jump but rather by a public health crisis: the eruption of the AIDS epidemic. Today, retrovirology focuses in large part on the study of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In record time, study of the characteristics of this virus and its replicative cycle and immunopathologic study of AIDS have yielded remarkable understanding of this disease. These advances have led to antiviral drugs that offer some promise that one day HIV infection will be controlled. Another consequence of the molecular characterization of retroviruses has been the creation of retroviral vectors, gene-delivery tools likely to have a profound influence on the emerging field of human gene therapy.

The authors who contributed to Retroviruses guide the reader along all these avenues in 12 well-balanced chapters. The first 10 chapters integrate state-of-the-art information on the various retroviruses, each directing substantial attention to HIV. The last two chapters are devoted exclusively to this pathogen: one deals with the pathogenesis of AIDS, and the other with the control of HIV infection. This broad coverage provides the reader with a unique opportunity to compare pathogenic strategies and particular characteristics of the retroviruses, as illustrated by the interactions between viral envelopes and their cell-surface receptors, described in the chapter on viral entry. Each chapter can stand on its own and is preceded by an introduction written in clear, simple terms. These introductions place each topic in context in the field of retrovirology. The reader can thus immediately attack a chapter of personal interest, a great convenience with a book of more than 840 pages. Two other features of Retroviruses are highly attractive: first, the numerous superb color plates and schematic diagrams that illustrate each chapter, and second, the appendixes, which not only provide accession numbers for viral sequences, maps, and structures but also discuss the ways in which this information can be retrieved and used productively.

Retroviruses is an outstanding reference book for clinicians and medical students who want to deepen their understanding of retrovirology, and it is a definite must for basic scientists working in the field.

Reviewed by Luc Perrin, M.D.
Copyright © 1998 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS.

Review

With the arrival of Retroviruses, a worthy successor to the 1985 classic has finally appeared. Despite its downsized title everything about this volume, edited by John Coffin, Stephen Hughes, and Harold Varmus, is top notch. Especially noteworthy are the many superb illustrations, which include color diagrams of protein structures, molecular mechanisms, and other aspects of retroviruses and their effects. New testament on retroviruses... This is a serious reference book to be cherished by specialist and novice alike... My copy disappeared from my office the day it arrived. Better order two copies at once. Nature --This text refers to the CD-ROM edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 843 pages
• Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; 1st edition (January 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879694971
• ISBN-13: 978-0879694975
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,232,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just what I was in search for!, September 30, 2005

By 

A. D. Saningong (Bavaria, Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Retroviruses CD (CD-ROM)

I'm a postgraduate student and I've Virology as a focal point in my studies. My professor in Retrovirology wasn't really structured in bringing the stuff over to us. Besides studying in a language which is not your own (german) deteriorated the situation. As a consequence, I was in search of help and I stumbled over this great piece online. I'm more than satisfied with it; it covers all the sections I became mixed up with during the lectures and more. I would call it the bible of retro virology. I've my exams in a few weeks time and I look forward to it with optimism. I just need to do some thorough revision and I think all should be okay. So I strongly recommend this piece.

A last word to the authors, I think publishing an updated version won't be a bad gesture. The current version is three years old and we all know there is strong research going on in this biological discipline.

Best regards

A.D. Saningong

0 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Could you help to us, dear Dr. John M.Coffin, please!!!, May 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Retroviruses (Hardcover)

Dear Dr. John M.Coffin! There is Dr.Adelya R.Kalinina, M.D.,Ph.D., Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry Russian Acad. Sci., Moscow, Russia.

Take my admiration about your book!

I would be very thankfull for you if you could send me sheme(illustration) of Mouse Mammary tumor virus...It's very important for me, because I want to use your data for lectures materials for student study. Sorry, right now we (Russian scientists) have not possibylities to use modern scientific literature in full volume.

Thank you very mush.

Dr. Kalinina Adelya.