Biochemistry and function of phagocytes

This volume collects the papers presented at the "Second European Conference on Phagocytic Leucocytes" which was held in Trieste, September 15-18, 1980. The Conference was the continuation of the thread of a discourse initiated with the "First European Conference on Phagocytic Leucocytes," which was held also in Trieste in 1976. In fact, in both Conferences the biochemical aspects of the basic functions of phagocytes--that is movement, metabolism, secretion, and bactericidal activity--were mainly emphasized. In the Second Conference, two additional subjects were also dealt with, and those are the tumoricidal activity of phagocytes and the clinical aspects of phagocyte functions. In connection with the latter subject a "Round Table on the Clinical Application of Leucocyte Function Tests" was held during the Conference and the proceedings are reported in this book in the hope that they may be useful to those who are interested in the relationship between phagocytes and diseases. The number of papers which are being published concerning the phagocytic process is such that one wonders whether publication of a new book in this field is necessary. However, the philosophy which inspired the editing of this book differs from that underlying publication of original articles in scientific journals. We started from the common notion that the real progress of our knowledge is not necessarily proportional to the amount of published material in that specific field. Additionally, a true progress in knowledge requires a careful verification of the validity of the information that one receives a realistic analysis of the reasons of conflicting results and of controversies, and a severe criticism of erroneous or false problems which generate unuseful and confusing papers. The two European Conferences on Phagocytic Leucocytes were organized to meet those requirements. The worldwide participation in both Conferences (77 scientists from 15 countries in the First Conference, and 106 scientists from 14 countries in the Second Conference) guaranteed a broad exchange of opinions. Consequently, this book does not represent a mere addition of new papers to an already vast literature, but defines the present status of the art and the future trends of research in the field of phagocyte functions.