As the major task of sequencing the human genome is near completion and full complement of human genes are catalogued, attention will be focused on the ultimate goal: to understand the normal biological functions of these genes, and how alterations lead to disease states. In this task there is a severe limitation in working with human material, but the mouse has been adopted as the favored animal model because of the available genetic resources and the highly conserved gene conservation linkage organization. In just of ten years since the first gene-targeting experiments were p- formed in...

Lorette Javois' timely new 2nd edition revises and updates her widely acclaimed collection of step-by-step immunocytochemical methods, one that is now used in many biological and biomedical research programs. The methods are designed for researchers and clinicians who wish to visualize molecules in plant or animal embryos, tissue sections, cells, or organelles. In addition to cutting-edge protocols for purifying and preparing antibodies, light microscopic analysis, confocal microscopy, FACS, and electron microscopy, this revised edition contains many new methods for applying...

The lipases and phospholipases represent a diverse group of enzymes that are expressed in animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Their ubiquitous distribution among all species is a testament to the essential roles played by these enzymes in lipid storage, mobilization and metabolism, membrane homeostasis and remodeling, endocrine and immune functions, and signal tra- duction. In humans, lipases and phospholipases are also thought to contribute to complex diseases, such as atherosclerosis, obesity, arthritis, and cancer, as well as to single gene defects, such as Wolman's disease and Type I...

Over the last decade, interest in mycoplasmas has been greatly sti- lated by the spread of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC, in Europe and Africa and the discovery of a possible association between mycoplasmas and AIDS. During this period there has also been a recognition by control authorities and int- national organizations, including the Office International des Epizooties, that mycoplasmas are major causes of economic loss in livestock and continue to be a problem in humans as a result of a range of chronic respiratory and...

With the completion of sequencing projects and the advancement of a- lytical tools for protein identification, proteomics the study of the expressed part of the genome has become a major region of the burgeoning field of functional genomics. High-resolution 2-D gels can reveal virtually all p- teins present in a cell or tissue at any given time, including posttranslationally modified proteins. Changes in the expression and structure of most cellular proteins caused by differentiation or external stimuli can be displayed and eventually identified using 2-D protein gels. 2-D Proteome Analysis...

Beginning with the Escherichia coli ? protein, or bacterial DNA topoisomerase I, an ever-increasing number of enzymes have been identified that catalyze changes in the linkage of DNA strands. DNA topoisomerases are ubiquitous in nature and have been shown to play critical roles in most p- cesses involving DNA, including DNA replication, transcription, and rec- bination. These enzymes further constitute the cellular targets of a number of clinically important antibacterial and anticancer agents. Thus, further studies of DNA topology and DNA topoisomerases are critical to advance our und-...

The invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) eventually earned Kary B. Mullis half of the 1993 Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1-4). However, for several years, issues of quality control and reproducibility interfered with attempts at commercial or clinical application of PCR. More recently, persistent work and numerous methodological inno- tions and refinements have resulted in the establishment of PCR as a routine, sensitive, and specific detection method in hospital and agricultural labora- ries. This transformation of PCR from an experimental research technique to an established...

Beginning with the Escherichia coli co protein, or bacterial DNA topoisomerase I, an ever-increasing number of enzymes has been identified that catalyze changes in the linkage of DNA strands. DNA topoisomerases are ubiquitous in nature and have been shown to play critical roles in most p- cesses involving DNA, including DNA replication, transcription, and rec- bination. These enzymes further constitute the cellular targets of a number of clinically important antibacterial and anticancer agents. Thus, further studies of DNA topology and DNA topoisomerases are critical to advance our und-...

The development of new methodologies has played a key role in the advancement of all areas of research. Specifically, the initial advances in our understanding of lipoprotein structure and metabolism were made possible by the development of ultracentrifugation and electrophoretic techniques. More recently, the advent of molecular biological techniques opened possibilities that were unthinkable just a few decades ago. The use of the analytical ult- centrifuge to study plasma lipoproteins began in the 1940s with the work of Mutzenbecher, McFarlene, Pedersen, Gofman, Lindgren, and Elliot....

As this book. Antibacterial Peptide Protocols, will attest, my enthusi asm for the field of antibacterial peptides is based on a conviction (and I am unashamed to say, prejudice) that these substances are in essence antibiotics produced by the host that then participate in host defense against infectious agents. Because of their capacity to exert antibiotic-like action against patho genic microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses), there is reason to believe that these agents will soon be used clinically to treat infectious diseases. In fact, in recent years, biotechnology...