Cell biology has made an appreciable impact on the evaluation of physiological and pathophysiological processes leading to a more detailed understanding of the signaling mechanisms by which cells communicate in vivo and in vitro and modify adaptively. By using cell culture models in addition to animal experiments we are now able to better define the overall and the selective potential of drugs. This book is designed to give information on the advantages and limitations and on new aspects and the meaning of cell culture models in pharmaceutical research.

Health care delivery, therapies and pharmaceuticals face major changes throughout the industrial world. As cost containment strategies are introduced by governments, as payers become more conscious and influential in their decisions about shaping therapies, and as consumers become more involved in directing their own health care, health care providers and pharmaceutical companies are being challenged to rethink the way they do business. This volume explores these changes and the potential responses. Parallel developments in health care delivery, information systems, pharmaceutical discovery...

This book is a collection of preclinical and clinical reports on the appli- cation of gene therapy to human disease. The focus of these studies is on cancer and cardiovascular disease. There are two fundamental technologies for delivering therapeutic genes to diseased ceHs: either viral vectors, as discussed by Dr. Bal- main, or non-viral vector systems, as discussed by Dr. Felgner. The strengths and limitations of each of these delivery systems are charac- terized. The use of a therapeutic gene to treat a disease has taken two general approaches. The first is to introduce anormal (i. e. ,...

How sex hormone receptors and all the other members of the nuclear receptor superfamily do such a remarkable job has fascinated scientists for decades. A series of discoveries in the past few years has dramatically enlightened our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that govern nuclear receptor action. The elucidation of the 3D structures of several nuclear receptor ligand binding domains in the presence of agonists or antagonists has provided an allosteric concept of ligand action, and the discovery of a plethora of ligand-dependent protein interactions has linked this...

Over the past decade, rapid progress had been made in elucidating the cellular and molecular mechanisms of new blood vessel formation in both health and disease. Lack of sufficient angiogenesis (new capillary development) and collateral formation (remodeling of existing blood vessels) in adult tissues (e. g., heart, brain, skeletal muscle) during criti cal ischemia has prompted novel therapeutic strategies to stimulate/fa cilitate angiogenesis and collateral formation in ischemic conditions ("therapeutic angiogenesis"). Therapeutic angiogenesis describes a strategy of inducing new col lateral...

The first complete genome sequence of a multicellular organism, Caenorhabditis elegans, has been determined recently. Several more will follow soon, among them the genome sequences of Drosophila melanogaster and the human. With these achievements, the stage is set for the next phase of "large-scale" biology, the study of the function of genes and the interactions between their protein products. The aim of the Ernst Schering Research Foundation Workshop 29 was to discuss the contribution of research on model organisms which are particularly suited for genetic and biological research, to the...

The title "Stem Cells from Cord Blood, In Utero Stem Cell Develop ment, and Transplantation-Inclusive Gene Therapy" suggests that more than one topic is combined in one workshop. Indeed, at first glance the recovery of stem cells from cord blood has to be seen as separate from the attempts to achieve effective in utero therapy by stem cell trans plantation, because the first issue deals with an innovative stem cell source as an alternative to bone marrow, which is already spreading rapidly in medical practice, whereas the second topic is still strictly ex perimental and only investigated in...

Inflammatory processes have been implicated in the pathophysiology of a variety of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke and mUltiple sclerosis. It is now widely accepted that the brain, considered to be an "immunologically privileged" organ, can exhibit immune and autoimmune responses, and it is these responses that may in fact be responsible for many neural pathologies. The participants of the workshop VI Preface Research over the past decade has demonstrated the pivotal role of the microglia in the neuroinflammatory process, and more recent work in the field of...

An essential component of inflammation is the migration of circulating leukocytes from blood into tissues. This process is characterized by a multistep paradigm of sequential cell adhesion and activation events that lead to the extravasation of specific leukocyte subsets to different tissues in health and disease. The first step of leukocyte extravasation, the rolling of leukocytes, is primarily mediated by the interactions of selectins and their ligands. It has recently become evident that fucosyltransferases are crucial for selectin ligand synthesis, inflammation, and skin homing. This book...

In autumn 2002, the Ernst Schering Research Foundation Workshop sponsored the 45th in its series of conferences devoted to emerging areas in basic and applied biomedical research. These conferences bring together a critical mass of top scientists working in an impor- tant area in an intimate setting that fosters the free exchange of knowledge and ideas. In this spirit, Workshop 45 assembled leaders in the field of chemokines - hemotactic cytokines that coordinate leukocyte trafficking - amid the scenic vineyards and wineries of Napa Valley, to discuss the latest concepts of how these...