Selective cytoplasmic organelle and protein targeting has long been thought to constitute the sole determinant of cell polarity and complexity. This view has been changed, however, by the discovery of differential subcellular RNA distribution patterns. Over the past decade it has become clear that selective mRNA sorting and translation contributes to an accumulation of cognate proteins at discrete cellular sites. In this book, various systems are discussed (e.g. Xenopus oocytes, mammalian brain, invertebrate nervous system) in terms of RNA trafficking, RNA-targeting sequences (cis-elements)...

There is no commonly accepted mechanism to explain differentiation of either normal or neoplastic cells. Despite this fact, the organizers of the 3 rd International Conference on Differentiation recognized that there is much emerging evidence which supports the view that both normal cells and many cancer cells share common differentiative processes. Accordingly, the organizers perceived that clinical scientists and developmental biologists would greatly benefit by together considering differentiation. In that way, developmental biologists would be apprised of recent insights in cancer cell...

Apoptosis is currently one of the fastest moving fields in biology with spectacular progress made over the past few years in delineating the molecular It is now indisputable that apoptosis mechanisms which underlie this process. plays an essential role in normal cell physiology and that aberrant apoptosis can manifest itself in a variety of human disorders. Published in two parts (Volumes 23 and 24 of the series entitled Results and Problems in Cell Differen tiation), this is an attempt to bring together many different aspects of apoptosis. Given that this is such a vast and rapidly expanding...

Leafing through a journal of biology will almost certainly turn up several arti cles on some aspect of the eukaryotic cell division cycle. The progress in un derstanding the modus operandi of the cell cycle machinery and its central role in controlling cell proliferation has awakened a great deal of interest in many biologists. However, the cell cycle field often seems unnecessarily complicated, perhaps because data are acquired in bits and pieces and almost all simultane ously from studies using different systems and organisms. The aim of this book is to make the background of the cell cycle...

Four of the major animal systems studied for the mechanisms of their early embryonic development are treated in this volume. The articles address the specific questions studied in the various systems, discuss the fundamental questions raised by the particular organism and explain the techniques used to find answers to these questions. Questions of patternformation, early organogenesis and the genetics of the early development arecovered as well as the question of parental imprinting phenomena in mammals which are important for the early differentiation. The development of the mouse,...

The informational content of cells is encoded in the nucleotide sequences of their DNA. The restrictions on base pairing- A pairing with T (U), and G pairing with C - in nature assures the fidelity of replication of DNA in cell division, and of transcription. In the test tube, these restrictions can be exploited for ascertaining similarities and dissimilarities of nucleic acids of varying origin by measuring the kinetics of reassociation of polynucleotides to double-stranded molecules in DNA- DNA renaturation or RNA-DNA hybridization experiments, and by determining the thermal stability and...

Actin is one of the most widespread proteins in eukaryotic cells. This book and its companion (Molecular Interactions of Actin. Actin-Myosin Interaction, Actin-Based Regulation) provide an authoritative and opinionated view of the structure and function of this essential protein. Each section includes an historical perspective and a detailed commentary on actin protein chemistry, molecular and cell biology of actin. While some chapters review the body of knowledge of the subject, others contain new experimental data. This book will appeal to research scientists seeking contemporary overviews...

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways are modules involved in the transduction of extracellular signals to intracellular targets in all eukaryotes. Distinct MAPK pathways are regulated by different extracellular stimuli and are implicated in a wide variety of biological processes. In plants, there is evidence for MAPKs playing a role in the signaling of abiotic stresses, pathogens, plant hormones, and cell cycle cues. The large number and divergence of plant MAPKs indicates that this ancient mechanism of bioinformatics is extensively used in plants and may provide new molecular...

The majority of studies devoted to animal development traditionally start out from questions of morphogenesis. Of course, visible differentiation, as well as the events leading to it, should ultimately become describable in molecular terms. Nevertheless, even simple morphogenetic processes may have a complex biochemical basis which makes it difficult to recognize the key functions involved. This difficulty obviously does not exist in the case of glands, i. e., organs and tissues primarily concerned with, and characterized by, the nature of their products, i. e., one, or a few secretory...