Bücher der Reihe Developments in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Cardiac cell biology has come of age. Recognition of activated or modified signaling molecules by specific antibodies, new selective inhibitors, and fluorescent fusion tags are but a few of the tools used to dissect signaling pathways and cross-talk mechanisms that may eventually allow rational drug design. Understanding the regulation of cardiac hypertrophy in all its complexity remains a fundamental goal of cardiac research. Since the advancement of adenovirally mediated gene transfer, transfection efficiency is no longer a limiting factor in the study of cardiomyocytes. A limiting factor in considering cell transplantion as a strategy to repair the damaged heart is cell availability at the right time. Cardiac gap junctions, intercellular communication channels that allow electrical and metabolic coupling and play an important role in arrhythmogenesis are now understood to be exquisite sensors of cardiac change. The reports in this volume incLude elegant studies that made use of cutting edge technological advances and many specialized reagents to address these issues.

During recent decades, bewildering progress has occurred in the field of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. Progress has been extraordinarily rapid primarily because of the challenge for finding solutions to a wide variety of diseases and the availability of new techniques for monitoring biochemical processes.

The multiplicity of receptor types, G-proteins, effector proteins, second messengers and protein kinases, their substrate proteins and the `cross-talk' interactions in the myocardium raises fundamental questions about the mechanisms that ensure the precision and timing of the myocardial responses to hormonal and pharmacological stimuli.

The breadth of modern biology is characterized by a comprehension of phenomena at many levels of organization. It is when all these levels can be discussed together that a sense of true achievement begins to be felt.

Instead, the purpose of the articles found within this focused volume of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry was to describe how the technique is performed on the laboratory bench so that others less familiar with the technique may be able to use it in their own labs.

Discusses the molecular mechanisms involved in many diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis, diabetes, arthritis, and Parkinson's disease, as well as disorders of the eye, skin, cardiac, and pulmonary systems. This volume also deals with the value of dietary supplementation with antioxidants in the prevention of cellular damage.

Because diabetes affects a wide range of cellular systems, a multidisciplinary effort has been mounted over the past several decades using a wide range of investigative techniques and methodologies in order to identify molecular mechanisms responsible for cellular dysfunction.

The focus of this special issue of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry is underlying mechanisms that regulate cardiac growth.

This special issue of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry contains twenty-two selected research papers and reviews from a total of one hundred and ten presentations given at the 12th International Symposium on ADP-ribosylation Reactions: From Bacterial Pathogenesis to Cancer, held in Cancun, Mexico, May 10-14, 1997.

Despite the considerable success in treating diseases of the heart and blood vessels, they still remain the major cause of mortality throughout the world.

Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Lipid Metabolism in the Normoxic and Ischemic Heart, September 9 & 10, 1991, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Twenty years have elapsed since cytoplasmic proteins exhibiting high-affinity binding of long-chain fatty acids were first identified (Ockner et al., Science 177:56-58, 1972). These cellular fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) are now well established to comprise a ligand-defined group of macromolecules belonging to a family of cytoplasmic lipid binding proteins. Unique features of the FABPs are the existence of distinct types of FABP and that these are found in a variety of tissues in remarkable abundance, with some cells expressing more than one type. The physiological significance of the FABPs has only partly been elucidated. By increasing the cytoplasmic solubilization of fatty acids, the cellular FABPs are considered to function primarily in intracellular fatty acid transport, but may also be assigned important regulatory roles in cellular lipid homeostasis as well as in the modulation of cell growth and differentiation. The broad interests in cellular FABPs has led to the organization of the 1st International Workshop on Fatty Acid-Binding Protein, held in Maastricht, the Netherlands, in 1989. Prompted by the success of the first meeting, the 2nd International Workshop on Fatty-Acid-Binding Proteins, which was held again in Maastricht, on August 31 and September 1, 1992, brought together scientific scpecialists in the field of FABP research for two days of intensive and fruitful discussion. This volume is a collection of selected papers from this conference, and thus provides the state-of-the-art knowledge of cellular FABPs. The contributors to this issue represent pioneering as well as new investigators, and also reflect the multidisciplinary nature of research in this exciting and rapidly progressing field.

This special issue of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry contains twenty-two selected research papers and reviews from a total of one hundred and ten presentations given at the 12th International Symposium on ADP-ribosylation Reactions: From Bacterial Pathogenesis to Cancer, held in Cancun, Mexico, May 10-14, 1997.

This volume explores all aspects of vascular biochemistry and includes chapters that provide an understanding of vascular function with descriptions of tissue components present in the vascular wall as well as an exploration of the hemodynamic and metabolic activities associated with this function.

The focus of this special issue of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry is underlying mechanisms that regulate cardiac growth.

The breadth of modern biology is characterized by a comprehension of phenomena at many levels of organization. It is when all these levels can be discussed together that a sense of true achievement begins to be felt.

This volume explores all aspects of vascular biochemistry and includes chapters that provide an understanding of vascular function with descriptions of tissue components present in the vascular wall as well as an exploration of the hemodynamic and metabolic activities associated with this function.

A variety of metabolic processes are known to be intimately involved in the maintenance of cellular structure and function. Special emphasis has been laid on understanding heart function and metabolism in health and disease in general, and cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, and ischemic heart disease in particular.

Collects articles from two related meetings - the first was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 11-12, 1997 and the second meeting took place in Stara Lesna located in the High Tatras Mountains of the Slovak Republic on June 27-30, 1997.

It is well established that cellular lipid binding proteins serve central roles in cellular lipid uptake and metabolism.

The editors of this volume invited all authors who are most active at present in experimental research on creatine kinases to summarize their work and make the information easily available to a wider scientific audience, especially to young investigators who are entering this field.

A variety of metabolic processes are known to be intimately involved in the maintenance of cellular structure and function. Special emphasis has been laid on understanding heart function and metabolism in health and disease in general, and cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, and ischemic heart disease in particular.

Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Lipid Metabolism in the Normoxic and Ischemic Heart, September 9 & 10, 1991, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

The special issue of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry focuses on `Control of Gene Expression by Catecholamines and the Renin-Angiotensin System' in health and disease. This focused issue is organized into chapters concentrating on catecholamines, angiotensin II, and the interaction between catecholamines and angiotensin II.