This book focuses on heat shock response-an active yet transient reprogramming of cellular activities to the needs of a stress protection mechanism designed to minimize heat damage and to optimize restoration of normal cellular activities after the stress period. This work places major emphasis on the structure and possible cellular functions of heat shock proteins as well as the analysis of heat shock protein-coding genes by transfection into homologous and heterologous expression systems. It also discusses heat shock effects on all levels of gene expression, on cell ultrastructure, and...

Three years have elapsed since the publication of the first edition of this book (in German). The continued interest of our readers and the rapid progress of our knowl edge in many fields necessitates a thoroughly revised and somewhat enlarged new edition. Cell differentiation is a prerequisite of life. It is defined as the prooess leading to the qualitatively and quantitatively selective realization of distinct parts of a given genetic material. Cell differentiation comprises five main aspects: (1) signal reception and transformation, (2) selective rearrangements of the genetic material, (3)...