This readable, comprehensive text covers endothelial biology from the fundamentals of structure and lung fluid balance physiology to state-of-the-art descriptions of the molecular mechanisms involved in the development of lung failure. The material and illustrations, provided by outstanding experts in their individual areas of research and clinical concentration, is artfully woven together to provide the reader with an integrated, in-depth, and up-to-date knowledge of endothelial function, vascular integrity, pulmonary function, and pathophysiology in respiratory failure.

This volume provides an overview of the cytoskeleton particularly on the fundamental role the cytoskeleton plays in the regulation of cell structure and function. This book represents new trends in cytoskeletal research that go beyond the traditional approach of identifying new proteins in the cytoskeleton, but actually define how these proteins interact with signaling pathways. While the major emphasis in this volume remains on the microfilament structure, some discussion has been included in this volume to illustrate the similarities and differences between the three cytoskeletal elements...

All living cells are surrounded by a lipidic membrane that isolates them from the often harsh environment. However, to take up nutrients, to excrete waste, and to communicate among each other, Nature has invented an incredibly diverse set of transmembrane transport proteins. Specialized transporters exist to shuttle electrically charged ions, positive cations like sodium or negative anions like chloride, across the membrane. In the recent years, tremendous progress has been made in the field of chloride transport. The present book presents the state of the art of this rapidly expanding and...

A large number of newly-synthesized polypeptides must cross one or several intracellular membranes to reach their functional locations in the eukaryotic cell. The mechanisms of protein trafficking, in particular the post-translational targeting and membrane translocation of proteins, are of fundamental biological importance and are the focus of intensive research world-wide. For more than 15 years, mitochondria have served as the paradigm organelle system to study these processes. Although key questions, such as how precisely proteins cross a membrane, still remain to be answered, exciting...

The revolution in biological research initiated by the demonstration that particular DNA molecules could be isolated, recombined in novel ways, and conveniently replicated to high copy number in vivo for further study, that is, the recombinant DNA era, has spawned many additional advances, both methodological and intellectual, that have enhanced our understanding of cellular processes to an astonishing degree. As part of the subsequent outpouring of information, research exploring the mechanisms of gene regulation, both in prokaryotes and eukaryotes (but particularly the latter), has been...

The rapid expansion of the area of free radical biology in the last 25 years has occurred within a framework of assumptions and preconceived notions that has at times directed the course of this movement. The most dominant of these notions has been the view that free radical production is without exception a bad thing, and that the more efficient our elimination of these toxic substances, the better off we will be. The very important observation by Bernard Babior and colleagues in 1973 that activated phagocytes produce superoxide in order to kill micro organisms, served to illustrate that...

As a result of the key advances made more than 30 years ago, specifically the ability to isolate islets of Langerhans from the pancreas, the ability to measure insulin accurately by immunoasay, and the development of microchemical techniques for studying cells and their components, many research volumes, symposium reports, and original papers have been produced. This explosion of interest has probably had at least three stimuli:

1. the inherent scientific interest in understanding secretion of the pancreatic -cell 2. the -cells relevance to a very common disease 3. the availability of...

After a decade of dominance by recombinant DNA technology, the field of molecular and cell biology is witnessing a renewed interest in techniques and approaches that are not driven by DNA acrobatics. In hindsight, this is an inevitable outcome. Deoxyribonucleic acid is not the master; it is only a storage house. If one wishes to know how cells work, the secret is not to be found in DNA, but rather in everything outside DNA. Science based on DNA is useful but does not itself solve the problem. It is most fortunate that at the height of the DNA phenomenon, there remain scientists who continue...

Research into the basic mechanisms of photosynthesis has a long and distinguished history and has consistently been at the forefront of science. The success of this research, particularly in recent years, suggests that photosynthesis may turn out to be the first complex biological system to have its structure, function, and regulation described in rigorous chemical terms at the atomic level. It is likely that such knowledge will help us to tackle perhaps the most vital problem facing mankind, namely our need for a continuous and nonpolluting source of energy. The benefit may come by providing...

The brain, and the rest of the nervous system, consists of nerve cells (neurons) and non-neuronal cells (glial cells), which by far outnumber the neurons, but in the past have received much less attention.

This began to change about 30 years ago with the realization that glial cells carry out very important functions, generally in collaboration with the nerve cells. Evidence is now starting to accumulate that glial cells, especially astrocytes and microglia, may be major (in some cases the main) players in a multitude of neurological and mental diseases, and that different types of...