Bücher der Reihe Colloquium Series on Building Blocks of the Cell: Cell Structure and Function

Examines the role of two well-characterized opsonic receptors, the Fc? receptor and the complement receptor, CR3 in macrophages. In particular, it focuses on the different mechanisms employed by these receptors during particle recognition and phagocytic uptake.

Epithelial cells exhibit an apical-basolateral axis of polarity that is generated during embryogenesis, is maintained throughout adult life in the face of constant cell regeneration, and is perturbed in several epithelial-associated diseases. Ths book examines the structural and functional organization of epithelial tissues, as well as the events critical for generating epithelial asymmetry.

The concept of vesicular traffic as a means of protein transport in and out of cells and between membrane compartments has been established since the 1960s. This volume introduces mechanisms of vesicle sculpting, cargo selection, vesicle targeting, and vesicle consumption that have emerged as common characteristics of multiple transport steps in the exocytic and endocytic pathways.

Provides a review of the general principles of Ca2+ signal transduction and examples of some of the major Ca2+-dependent cellular processes. This volume also reviews the main sources of Ca2+ and the molecular effectors of Ca2+ signals, and provides some examples from the literature that illustrate how Ca2+ signalling works.

Discusses properties and interactions of membrane molecules that lead to nanodomain formation, new and emerging technologies by which nanodomains can be studied, and experimental examples that illustrate both highlights and current limitations of our present knowledge of the properties of membrane nanodomains in various cell types.