Many complex molecular interactions are involved in the development of the mammalian brain. Molecules serving as guidance cues for migratory cells, growing axons and for recognition of postsynaptic targets are a major topic for research because they are directly involved in the formation of neuronal circuits, thus creating the foundation for subsequent functional refinement through interactions with the environment. In addition, most guidance cue molecules are also involved in plasticity, damage repair and regeneration in the adult brain.

This volume reviews current knowledge on...

During evolution silica deposition has been used in Protozoa, Metazoa and in plants as skeletal elements. It appears that the mechanisms for the formation of biogenic silica have evolved independently in these three taxa. In Protozoa and plants biosilicification appears to be primarily driven by non-enzymatic processes and procedes on organic matrices. In contrast, in sponges (phylum Porifera) this process is mediated by enzymes; the initiation of this process is likewise dependent on organic matrices. In this monograph the role of biosilica as stabilizing structures in different organisms is...

Awareness of the dangers of toxic components in antifouling coatings has raised interest in the potential for nontoxic alternatives. Marine organisms from bacteria to invertebrates and plants use chemicals to communicate and defend themselves. This book explores natural based antifoulants, their ecological functions, methods of characterisation and possible uses in antifouling. The text takes on the challenge of identifying such compounds, designing sustainable production and incorporating them into antifouling coatings.

The articles in the present volume are by major contributors to our under standing of signaling pathways affecting protein synthesis. They focus pri marily on two extracellular anabolic signals, although others are included as well. Insulin is one of the best-studied extracellular regulators of protein syn thesis. Several of the known pathways for regulation of protein synthesis were elucidated using insulin-dependent systems. Regulation of protein synthesis by amino acids, by contrast, is an emerging field that has recently received a great deal of attention. The dual role of amino acids as...

Protein degradation has been identified as a major mechanism for the regulation of cellular functions. Not surprisingly, its deregulation is implied in almost any pathological condition. This book describes how aged proteins are eliminated during cell metabolism, how cell proliferation is regulated by protein degradation and how its deregulation can contribute to the development of cancer, how protein degradation is modified during normal and abnormal aging, in particular with regard to Alzheimer's disease and other degenerative diseases of the brain and central nervous system. Attempts...

The discovery in 1977 that genes are split into exons and introns has done away with the one gene - one protein dogma. Indeed, the removal of introns from the primary RNA transcript is not necessarily straightforward since there may be optional pathways leading to different messenger RNAs and consequently to different proteins. Examples of such an alternative splicing mechanism cover all fields of biology. Moreover, there are plenty of occurrences where deviant splicing can have pathological effects. Despite the high number of specific cases of alternative splicing, it was not until recently...

The internal structure of a cell can be affected by signals in the form of small molecules outside the cell. These changes can then alter the shape or adhesiveness of the cell. This volume centers particularly on one family of cellular proteins which transmit these signals, the Rho Ras-like GTPases, and examines their role in normal cellular processes and development. Also discussed are their roles in cancer formation and microbial pathogenesis.

The problem of the long-term proliferation of cells is a seminal one. It has always been a hot subject in biology, a source of far-reaching hypotheses, even more so now when explanations for the mechanisms of cell prolifera tive mortality or immortality seem within our reach. A question which is still debated is whether an infinite division potential can be a normal trait or is always the result of modifications leading to abnormal cell growth and escape from homeostasis. In general, investigators have been advocates of one of the two extremes, universal limited or unlim ited normal...

Cell biologists have recently come to understand that asymmetry of division is an important regulatory phenomenon in the fate of a cell. In adult organisms asymmetric divisions regulate the stem cell reservoir and are a source of the drift that contributes to aging. This book describes the phenomenon in different organisms and addresses its implications for the development of the organism, cell differentiation, human aging and the biology of cancers.

The pathogenesis of viral infections involves dynamic interactions between viruses and hosts, which can result in different outcomes including cell death, elimination of the virus or latent infection.Viruses deliver genomes and p- teins with signaling potential into target cells, resulting in growth, prolife- tion and apoptosis.Viral infection modi?es key cell regulatory elements involved in apoptotic pathways to successfully accomplish viral replication despite the toxicity of viral products and the immune response elicited against the virus.Also, the interplay between virus-induced...