Inositol Phospholipid Metabolism And Phosphatidyl Inositol Kinases

The development of advanced methods for isolation, identification and quantification of old and new inositol lipids and inositol phosphtes from natural and synthetic systems has been a major advancing force in phosphoinositol research. The writing of this book was undertaken as an opportunity fo examine the analytical validity of the biochemical transformations that constitute the basis of the lipid signaling pathways.

The Chilton Conference on Inositol and Phosphoinositides, held on January 9-11, 1984 at Southwestern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center, Dallas, Texas, was the third in a series of conferences on cyclitols and phosphoinositides. The first took place in 1968 in New York [Ann. New York Acad. Sci. (1969), 765,508-819] and the second was held in 1977 in East Lansing, Michigan [eyclitols and Phosphoinositides, Wells, W. W. and Eisenberg, F. , eds. , (1978) Academic press, New York, pp. 1-607. ] In the interim since the previous conference, not only has the pace of research in the field accelerated markedly, but the physiological importance of phosphoinositide metabolism has become apparent to an increasing number of investigators from diverse fields in the life sciences. Thus it seemed to us timely for both recent and established workers in this area, as well as others whose interests impinged on it, to meet in order to disseminate new information, to review, and perhaps arrive at, a consensus of our current understanding of the role of inositol and phosphoinositides, and to establish new directions for research for the next few years. The expansion of the field since the last meeting made it mandatory to restrict the scope of the topics covered at the conference, primarily to aspects dealing with mammalian systems. We sincerely regretted the exclusion of recent research on cyclitols and phosphoinositides in microbes and plants and hope that these areas will be included in future conferences.

The volumes in this authoritative series present a multidisciplinary approach to modeling and simulation of flows in the cardiovascular and ventilatory systems, especially multiscale modeling and coupled simulations. The cardiovascular and respiratory systems are tightly coupled, as their primary function is to supply oxygen to and remove carbon dioxide from the body's cells. Because physiological conduits have deformable and reactive walls, macroscopic flow behavior and prediction must be coupled to phenomenological models of nano- and microscopic events in a corrector scheme of regulated mechanisms when the vessel lumen caliber varies markedly. Therefore, investigation of flows of blood and air in physiological conduits requires an understanding of the biology, chemistry, and physics of these systems together with the mathematical tools to describe their functioning. Volume 4 is devoted to major sets of intracellular mediators that transmit signals upon stimulation of cell-surface receptors. Activation of signaling effectors triggers the release of substances stored in cellular organelles and/or gene transcription and protein synthesis. Complex stages of cell signaling can be studied using proper mathematical models, once the role of each component is carefully handled. Volume 4 also reviews various categories of cytosolic and/or nuclear mediators and illustrates some major signal transduction pathways, such as NFkappaB axis, oxygen sensing, and mechanotransduction.

Lipids are the most abundant organic compounds found in the brain, accounting for up to 50% of its dry weight. The brain lipidome includes several thousands of distinct biochemical structures whose expression may greatly vary according to age, gender, brain region, cell type, as well as subcellular localization. In synaptic membranes, brain lipids specifically interact with neurotransmitter receptors and control their activity. Moreover, brain lipids play a key role in the generation and neurotoxicity of amyloidogenic proteins involved in the pathophysiology of neurological diseases. The aim of this book is to provide for the first time a comprehensive overview of brain lipid structures, and to explain the roles of these lipids in synaptic function, and in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Creutzfeldt-Jakob’s and Parkinson’s. To conclude the book, the authors present new ideas that can drive innovative therapeutic strategies based on the knowledge of the role of lipids in brain disorders. Written to provide a "hands-on" approach for readers Biochemical structures explained with molecular models, and molecular mechanisms explained with simple drawings Step-by-step guide to memorize and draw lipid structures Each chapter features a content summary, up-to-date references for additional study, and a key experiment with an explanation of the technique

An understanding of the mechanisms by which plants perceive environmental cues, both physical and chemical, and transduce the signals that influence specific expression of genes, is an area of intensive scientific research. With the completion of the genome sequence of Arabidopsis it is understood now that a larger number of genes encode for proteins involved in signalling cascades and transcription factors. In this volume, different chapters deal with plant receptors, second messengers like calcium ions, phosphoinositides, salicylic acid and nitrous oxide, calcium binding proteins and kinases. In addition to dealing with the response of plants to light, hormones, pathogens, heat, etc. on cellular activity, work currently going on in apoptosis, cell division, and plastid gene expression is also covered in this book.

Many of the phospholipases and even the receptor for inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate have recently been cloned and sequenced and play an important role in neurotransmission. Methods developed in recent years for the study of the enzymes and intermediates involved in the regulation of neuronal signal transduction involving phospholipid turnover are presented in this volume. Techniques for examining the role of phosphoinositides in signal transduction Techniques related to protein kinase C Analysis of inositol phosphates Techniques to analyze phospholipid turnover in the brain

Offers a review of developments along with tried and tested methods for isolation, resolution and quantification of inositol phospholipids and inositol polyphosphates in both cells and tissues. This book includes detailed methodology for identification of molecular species of inositol phospholipids, including their phosphates and glycans.