Janeway’s Immunobiology, Ninth Edition

Janeway’s Immunobiology has occupied an integral position in the undergraduate and graduate biology curriculum for decades, and its recently released 9th edition will continue to be a popular choice. As with prior editions, the book is primarily intended for students with a basic biology background encountering immunology for the first time, though it is also a useful reference for researchers and clinicians.

A hallmark of Janeway’s Immunobiology throughout the years is its widely recognized line-art images and tables; indeed, researchers in immunology laboratories often find copies of figures from Janeway posted above a bench for reference. This edition adheres to that tradition, with a preface proudly proclaiming over 100 additional figures. These figures are well-illustrated, detailed, and so prevalent that they appear on almost every page.

The 9th edition also includes updates on recent developments in multiple immunology subfields. Notably, the section on innate immunity has added a discussion of immune effector modules, which are critical to understanding the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal infection, and several other diseases. The section on therapeutics now contains a discussion of chimeric antigen receptors, an active and important area of cancer immunotherapy research. A particularly significant feature of this edition is an overhaul of the end-of-chapter questions and the addition of an instructors’ question bank. The 9th edition replaces the handful of often open-ended review questions at the end of each chapter with multiple-choice and true-false questions, providing an easier avenue for instructors to test the material.

The final chapters of the text contain a fairly extensive—though not comprehensive—catalog of immunological techniques. Noteworthy absences include humanized mouse strains (ex. BLT, hu-NSG, etc.), whose role in immunology research continues to grow, and antibody repertoire sequencing, which is a rapidly expanding field at the interface of high-throughput genetics and immunology. Nevertheless, the bread-and-butter techniques of immunology (ex. ELISPOT, MHC:peptide tetramer pulldown assays, gene knockout, etc.) receive in-depth coverage. The last chapter is followed by exhaustive appendices containing lists of CD antigens, cytokines, and chemokines, solidifying the book as a useful resource for the classroom and the laboratory. Reflecting the changing nature of the field, the appendices have been updated with input from students and professors, ensuring that they reflect current knowledge.

Overall, Janeway’s Immunobiology remains the standard-bearer for introductory immunology textbooks. It continues its predecessors’ broad coverage of the subject and contains updated figures and appendices. In sum, Janeway’s Immunobiology serves as both an excellent introduction to the field as well as a comprehensive reference and review for more advanced readers.