Neuropeptides and Immunoregulation

This book provides an updated overview of a rapidly develo- ping and exciting area of investigation dealing with the ro- le of neuropeptides in immunoregulatory processes. Existing texts focus on the bidirectional exchange of signals among the nervous, endocrine and immune systems in mammals, car- ried out primarily by the enkephalin and proopiomelanocortin families of neuropeptides and lymphokines. This collection of material is the first one to include pertinent informa- tion obtained in invertebrates, which has considerably ad- vanced our knowledge of the role of opioid neuropeptides, especiallyin another activity of the immune system, that of autoregulation. The study and interpretation of the remark- able parallelisms between these phenomena observed in inver- tebrates and vertebrates bring new insight into the me- chanisms of neuroimmunobiological integration with both general biological and clinical implications.