Bücher der Reihe Results and Problems in Cell Differentiation

Employing a broad range of examples, it highlights how this mode of cell division constitutes the basis of multicellular organism development and how its misregulation can lead to cancer.To underline such developmental correlations, readers will for example gain insights into stem cell fate and tumor growth.

This volume covers the current knowledge base on the role of signaling and environmental pathways that control the normal development of germline stem cells, meiotic progression of oocytes, events of oocyte maturation and fertilization, and the birth of an embryo.Germ cells are uniquely poised to sustain life across generations through the fusion of oocyte and sperm. Because of the central importance of germ cells to life, much work has been dedicated to obtaining a clear understanding of the molecular and signaling events that control their formation and maintenance. Germ cells are set aside from somatic cells in the embryo and go through specialized meiotic cell cycles as the animal matures. These cell cycles are interspersed with long periods of arrest. In human females, meiosis I is initiated in the fetus. At birth, oocytes are arrested in meiosis I; after puberty, every month an oocyte initiates meiosis II - ovulation. Upon sperm availability these cells are fertilized, generate an embryo, and the cycle-of-life continues. During meiotic I progression and arrest, the fitness of oocytes and their progeny are likely influenced by environmental cues and signaling pathways.A lot of recent work has focused on understanding the mechanisms that regulate oocyte fitness and quality in humans and vertebrates. Much of our understanding on the events of meiosis I and germline stem cell populations comes from work in invertebrates, wherein the germline stem cells produce oocytes continuously through adult development. In both inverbrates and vertebrates nutritional and signaling pathways control the regulation of stem cells in such a manner so as to couple production of gametes with the nutritional availability. Additionally, mature oocytes arrest both in meiosis I and meiosis II, and signaling and nutritional pathways have been shown to regulate their formation, and maintenance, such that despite long periods of arrest, the oocyte quality is assured and errors in chromosome segregation and varied cytoplasmic events are minimal.

This book highlights the role of the Translationally Controlled Tumor Protein (TCTP) in cell signaling, cell fate and the resulting connection to disease development.

This volume takes a closer look how the cell organelles Golgi apparatus (also known as the Golgi complex or Golgi body), and centriole are structurally and functionally intertwined.Initially, it was believed that the role of Golgi complex is limited to the packaging and preparation for secretion of various cellular proteins, while the centriole participates in cell division and cilia formation. However, since their discovery nearly 200 years ago, it became clear that these two organelles are interacting, and that their functions are much more complex and far reaching than previously thought. Recent findings indicate that the Golgi¿Centriole relationship may be important for directional protein transport, cell polarization and cell cycle progression. Current studies indicate that Golgi and centriole also participate in development and act as cellular and immunological sensors, and that their abnormalities lead to cell and developmental abnormalities, Alzheimer, cancer, variouslipid disorders and neurological and immunological diseases in humans. This volume combines the latest information on the structure, molecular composition, and roles of Golgi and centriole in various cellular functions and diseases. The better understanding of the Golgi¿centriole interactions may lead to the development of novel therapies for the treatment of various diseases, including cancer.

Evolutionary developmental biology or evo-devo is a field of biological research that compares the underlying mechanisms of developmental processes in different organisms to infer the ancestral condition of these processes and elucidate how they have evolved.

The composition and robustness of human symbionts could make them a valuable diagnostic tool for predicting impending diseases, and the manipulation of symbionts could yield new strategies for the treatment of incurable diseases.

The composition and robustness of human symbionts could make them a valuable diagnostic tool for predicting impending diseases, and the manipulation of symbionts could yield new strategies for the treatment of incurable diseases.

During the last two decades, the prevalence of obesity has dramatically increased in western and westernized societies. Its devastating health consequences include hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, or diabetes and make obesity the second leading cause of unnecessary deaths in the USA. As a consequence, obesity has a strong negative impact on the public health care systems. Recently emerging scienti?c insight has helped understanding obesity as a complex chronic disease with multiple causes. A multileveled gene-environment interaction appears to involve a substantial number of susceptibility genes, as well as associations with low physical activity levels and intake of high-calorie, low-cost, foods. Unfor- nately, therapeutic options to prevent or cure this disease are extremely limited, posing an extraordinary challenge for today's biomedical research community. Obesity results from imbalanced energy metabolism leading to lipid storage. Only detailed understanding of the multiple molecular underpinnings of energy metabolism can provide the basis for future therapeutic options. Numerous aspects of obesity are currently studied, including the essential role of neural and endocrine control circuits, adaptive responses of catabolic and anabolic pathways, metabolic fuel sensors, regulation of appetite and satiation, sensory information processing, transcriptional control of metabolic processes, and the endocrine role of adipose tissue. These studies are predominantly fuelled by basic research on mammalian models or clinical studies, but these ?ndings were paralleled by important insights, which have emerged from studying invertebrate models.

The cell cycle is tightly regulated on many different levels to ensure properly controlled proliferation. Deregulation of cell cycle regulation is a hallmark of cancer. In this book, many aspects of cell cycle regulation are discussed, which include G1, S, M phase control, ubiquitin-mediated degradation, DNA damage response, mitotic spindle checkpoint, the centrosome cycle, Retinoblastoma protein family, the Myc oncogene, and mouse models for tumor suppressors, cyclin-dependent kinases, and meiosis. These chapters written by experts provide an updated view on how the cell cycle is regulated in vivo and about the involvement of cell cycle regulators in cancer.