This volume provides a compilation of the main principles of signal transduction mechanisms. The reader will become familiar with the most recent developments on:
- the structure and function of heterotrimeric G-proteins and their receptors;
- the small GTPases Ras, Rho, Rab and Arf;
- EGF receptor, Ca2+ and protein kinase C;
- phosphoinositide kinases (PI-3 kinases);
- phospholipases C and D;
- ceramides and possible modulators of apoptosis;
- transcription factors and gene activation;
- multidrug resistance transporters.

This is now the fourth time that protein phosphorylation has been the focus of a NATO Advanced Study Institute. The first meeting with the topic "Signal Trans duction and Protein Phosphorylation" was held on the island of Spezai, Greece, in September 1986. The second one took place in Chateau La Londe, France, in September 1989 on "Cellular Regulation by Protein Phosphorylation," the third one on " Tyrosine Phosphorylation/Dephosphorylation and Downstream Signaling" was in September 1992 in Maratea, Italy. The titles of these books clearly mirror the developments that have taken place in the...

Many important cellular processes rely on posttranscriptional control of gene expression. This book describes the mechanisms of gene expression at this level that occur in the cytoplasm of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Several introductory chapters discuss the general principles of translation and mRNA stability. The interactions of mature mRNA with the translational machinery, the components of mRNA degradation and antisense RNA are surveyed. Subsequent chapters discuss protein folding, transport, modification and degradation. The book is an invaluable source of information for both newcomers...

The importance of gene therapy is increasing more and more. This book covers both somatic gene therapy of inherited human diseases as well as of cancer, with emphasis on malignancies of the hematopoietic system.
Topics include the isolation and development of hematopoietic stem cells, genes involved in development and diseases, methods of gene transfer, carrying out gene transfer, oncogenes and antioncogenes as targets for gene therapy, receptors and their ligands in normal development and diseases, immunology and immunotherapy, radiation biology, clinical leukemias and bone marrow...

Protein insertion and translocation, intracellular traffic and sorting of membranes and their components, and lipid-protein interactions were the main topics of the Advanced Study Institute on "Molecular Dynamics of Membranes," which was held in June 1995 in Cargese, Corsica, France. The course, co-sponsored by NATO and FEBS, was the fifth in a series that started in 1987 and takes place every two years in the Institut d'Etudes Scientifiques in Cargese. This Institute, ideally situated and fully equiped for this type of scientific meeting has greatly contributed to the great success of the...

For a long time, lactic acid bacteria have played an indispensable role in food production.
This book provides an overview and recent findings on their genetics and biochemistry as well as possible applications. The development and use of non-pathogenic lactic acid bacteria in vaccine delivery systems for mucosal immunizations are discussed. Their role in food fermentation, their use in carbohydrate modification and key systems for proteolysis and lantibiotic production are treated in detail. Further, the transformation of organic wastes into food and fertilizers is covered. The volume...

Image analysis and flow cytometry are complementary techniques which provide new insights into essential aspects of cell biology. This book presents an up-to-date overview of current ideas and methods in these domains. It consists of three parts. Part I, "Membrane Dynamics and Function", deals with adhesion molecules, membrane pump dynamics, membrane fusion and endocytosis, membrane potential, T-cell homing and cytoskeleton, etc. The second part focuses on problems of cell proliferation, chromosome analysis and sorting, apoptosis, imaging cytometry of fixed and living cells, image analysis...

With the aim of providing an international forum for the communication of both the basic and clinical aspects of molecular and cellular biology of cancer, a NATO ASl was held in Porto Carras, Halkidiki, Greece, September 1-12, 1995. The principles as well as recent developments in tumor biology were discussed in depth, with emphasis on the regulation of the cell cycle, differentiation, programmed cell death (apoptosis) and genetics of cancer. This book constitutes the proceedings of that meeting. Specifically, the following areas were addressed: (a) enzymes and proteins (cyclins) that control...