MicroRNAs as the endogenous mediators of RNA interference have experienced an unprecedented career in recent years, highlighting their pathogenic, diagnostic and potential therapeutic relevance. Beside tissue microRNAs, they are also found in body fluids, most notably in blood. Significant differences of circulating microRNA levels have been found in various diseases, making them candidates for minimally invasive markers of disease, for example tumor malignancy. The book focuseson the potential diagnostic applicability of circulating microRNAs in various diseases and their potential...

MMPs are involved in numerous biological processes, fostering tissue degradation resulting in pathologies from osteoarthritis to tumor metastasis. This book focuses on the latest quantitative research into the endogenous inhibitors that disrupt MMP activity.

thrombospondin-l may be encoded by a tumor suppressor gene. Dr. O'Reilly discusses angiostatin, an exciting recently discovered factor derived from the fibrinolytic proenzyme plasminogen that inhibits tumor angiogenesis, primary tumor growth, and formation of metastases. In addition to the soluble class of angiogenesis-regulatory factors discussed above, interactions of endothelial cells with components of the extracellular matrix and with other cell types are critical for proper formation of vessels. Drs. Grant and Kleinman discuss the role of laminin and other matrix molecules in regulation...

gar discusses recent studies of the SF gene promoter that may be relevant to understanding the detailed molecular mechanism(s) by which soluble factors regulate SF production. Polverini and Nickoloff discuss another mechanism by which SF may enhance tumor growth, ie., stimulation of angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing microvessels. Angiogenesis is required for continued growth of most solid tumors, and provides a mechanism by which the stroma may continue to grow along with the tumor cells. Although endothelial cells are stromal cells, they express a number of...

"Stress-Inducible Cellular Responses" are essential for survival of cells of all species under adverse conditions. At the molecular level this is ac complished by a number of essential proteins all of which are involved in various aspects of cellular homeostasis through protective or adaptive func tions. Interestingly, molecules such as heat shock proteins have properties as molecular chaperones and are involved in multiple stages of a protein biogenesis beginning with synthesis and involvement in the subsequent events of folding, translocation, and degradation. Heat shock proteins have a...

In this volume outstanding specialists review the state of the art in nervous system research for all main invertebrate groups. They provide a comprehensive up-to-date analysis important for everyone working on neuronal aspects of single groups, as well as taking into account the phylogenesis of invertebrates. The articles report on recently gained knowledge about diversification in the invertebrate nervous systems, and demonstrate the analytical power of a comparative approach. Novel techniques in molecular and developmental biology are creating new perspectives that point toward a...

Environmental Toxicology is the third volume of a three-volume set on molecular, clinical and environmental toxicology that offers a comprehensive and in-depth response to the increasing importance and abundance of chemicals of daily life. By providing intriguing insights far down to the molecular level, this three-volume work covers the entire range of modern toxicology with special emphasis on recent developments and achievements. It is written for students and professionals in medicine, science, public health or engineering who are demanding reliable information on toxic or potentially...

This volume contains a collection of papers presented at the Symposium on Control Problems in Industry, held on July 22-23, 1994 in San Diego. The Symposium, conducted by the Society for Industrial and Applied Math ematics (SIAM), with the cooperation of the Institut National Recherche Informatique et Automatique (INRIA), focused on industrial control ap plications that have benefited from recent mathematical and technological developments. A partial list of themes featured by the Symposium is listed below. 1) Applications of Control Techniques in a) the aerospace industry, b) the automotive...

Galanin is a neuropeptide found both in the central and peripheral nervous system. The 29-amino acid peptide (named after its N-terminal glycine and C-terminal alanine) was identified in 1983 by its C-terminal amidation. This 'reverse' approach, that is to discover a substance through a distinct chemical feature, and only subsequently to characterize its biological activity, was novel and has been successful in the identification of several other peptides. After the structure of galanin was determined in 1983, functional studies were performed with material purified from natural sources until...

It follows naturally from the widely accepted Darwinian dictum that failures of populations or of species to adapt and to evolve under changing environments will result in their extinction. Population geneti- cists have proclaimed a centerstage role in developing conservation biology theory and applications. However, we must critically reexamine what we know and how we can make rational contributions. We ask: Is genetic variation really important for the persistence of species? Has any species become extinct because it ran out of genetic variation or because of inbreeding depression? Are...