The subject for a volume on the fat-soluble vitamins needs no justification considering the importance of this group of nutrients and the rate of expan sion of our knowledge of its role in cell biology, genetics, and disease. The level of our understanding has clearly moved from knowing what fat soluble vitamins do to how they perform their functions. Hand in hand with a knowledge of their molecular mechanisms of action is the recognition that vitamins are used sparingly, and regeneration processes operate in certain cases to recycle vitamins from their metabolites. We have divided the volume...

The last few years have witnessed an explosion of both interest and knowledge about apoptosis, the process by which a cell actively commits suicide. The number of publications on the topic has increased from nothing in the early 1980s to more than 10,000 papers annually today. It is now well recognized that apoptosis is essential in many aspects of normal development and is required for maintaining tissue homeostasis. The idea that life requires death seems somewhat paradoxical, but cell suicide is essential for an animal to survive. For example, without selective destruction of "non-self" T...

Lipids are functionally versatile molecules. They have evolved from relatively simple hydrocarbons that serve as depot storages of metabolites and barriers to the permeation of solutes into complex compounds that perform a variety of signalling functions in higher organisms. This volume is devoted to the polar lipids and their constituents. We have omitted the neutral lipids like fats and oils because their function is generally to act as deposits of metabolizable substrates. The sterols are also outside the scope of the present volume and the reader is referred to volume 28 of this series...

Since its discovery in 1957, Coenzyme Q has piqued the interest of scientists from a wide range of disciplines because of its bioenergetics, vitamin-like behavior, and interactions with antioxidant vitamins E and C. Coenzyme Q: Molecular Mechanisms in Health and Disease is a comprehensive treatise on this often-studied coenzyme. International experts cover the research that led to its emergence as an exciting, new dietary supplement.The present volume summarizes the latest developments in various areas of CoQ research. New concepts on extramitochondrial functions of CoQ are discussed in two...

The fluid-mosaic model of membrane structure formulated by Singer and Nicolson in the early 1970s has proven to be a durable concept in terms of the principles governing the organization of the constituent lipids and proteins. During the past 30 or so years a great deal of information has accumulated on the composition of various cell membranes and how this is related to the dif ferent functions that membranes perform. Nevertheless, the task of explaining particular functions at the molecular level has been hampered by lack of struc tural detail at the atomic level. The reason for this is...

Endotoxins explores the mechanism behind whole-body inflammation and sepsis by synthesizing the leading research in the field. The biosynthesis, genetic constitution, and structure ofendotoxins are presented, in addition to their interaction with host cells.

The fluid-mosaic model of membrane structure formulated by Singer and Nicolson in the early 1970s has proven to be a durable concept in terms of the principles governing the organization of the constituent lipids and proteins. During the past 30 or so years a great deal of information has accumulated on the composition of various cell membranes and how this is related to the dif ferent functions that membranes perform. Nevertheless, the task of explaining particular functions at the molecular level has been hampered by lack of struc tural detail at the atomic level. The reason for this is...

Lipids are functionally versatile molecules. They have evolved from relatively simple hydrocarbons that serve as depot storages of metabolites and barriers to the permeation of solutes into complex compounds that perform a variety of signalling functions in higher organisms. This volume is devoted to the polar lipids and their constituents. We have omitted the neutral lipids like fats and oils because their function is generally to act as deposits of metabolizable substrates. The sterols are also outside the scope of the present volume and the reader is referred to volume 28 of this series...

The last few years have witnessed an explosion of both interest and knowledge about apoptosis, the process by which a cell actively commits suicide. The number of publications on the topic has increased from nothing in the early 1980s to more than 10,000 papers annually today. It is now well recognized that apoptosis is essential in many aspects of normal development and is required for maintaining tissue homeostasis. The idea that life requires death seems somewhat paradoxical, but cell suicide is essential for an animal to survive. For example, without selective destruction of "non-self" T...