Platelet Activating Factor And Related Lipid Mediators 2

In the last decade, research on platelet-activating factor (PAF) has expanded exponentially. Previous conferences on PAF in Paris, 1983, and the subsequent conferences in Gatlinburg, Ten nessee, Tokyo, Snowbird, Utah, and Berlin, at three-yearly intervals, have chronicled the devel opments in the field ofPAF. This volume records the proceedings of the Fifth International Con gress on PAF and Related Lipid Mediators, held at the Free University Medical Hospital Ben jamin Franklin in Berlin, from September 12-16, 1995. We are very much indebted to Free Uni versity Berlin for providing tremendous facilities and financial support. It was a great pleasure to have positive and generous input from the German Science Council (DFG), Bonn, Germany, and British·Biotech, Oxford, United Kingdom. Their support was crucial in making the congress a scientific success. Twenty other organizations provided additional financial support, for which we extend our deepest appreciation. The editors would like to thank all of those who participated in this congress and the authors for their contributions. The organization and planning of the Berlin Congress were carried out by an organizing committee. We gratefully acknowledge the support and assistance of the organizing commit tee members, especially Renate Nigam and Renate Roux for their untiring efforts to make the congress successful. Many colleagues also supported the congress with dedication, hard work, and expert input. We are grateful to them. We also wish to acknowledge the support of G. Sravan Kumar and Louis Kock for their efforts in producing this volume.

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is the commonly used name for a group of potent biologically active, ether-linked phospholipids, the alkylacetylglycerophospho cholines. Following the identification of the chemical structure of P AF in 1979, much progress has been made in our understanding of these phospholipid medi ators. This is particularly true from the points of view of their molecular structural requirements for expression of biological activity, their biosynthesis and cata bolism, their diverse range of biological activities, evidence for their specific recep tors at the cell surface, the development of specific antagonists for use in receptor studies and for testing as potential anti-PAF drugs, and implications about their involvement in health and disease. Chapters in this book cover the current status of these general areas of PAF research. Although an enormous amount of information has been published about this interesting new type of phospholipid mediators, questions about their mechanism of action, regulatory controls, and the precise role and relative importance of P AF in specific diseases and physiological functions remain to be answered. Since the 1979 discovery, the PAF field has brought together scientists from a variety of different biomedical disciplines. The diversity of scientists now in PAF research is very apparent from the number of P AF publications appearing in a wide array of scientific journals, ranging from molecular biology to clinical medicine. Publications related to PAF continue to increase at an amazingly rapid rate, with the pace reminiscent of the period following the discovery of prostaglandins.

The Handbook of Immunopharmacology: Lipid Mediators covers a comprehensive overview of lipid mediators, from synthesis through to inhibition. The book discusses the metabolism of arachidonic acid; the measurement of fatty acids and their metabolites; and the biological properties of cyclooxygenase products. The text also describes other essential fatty acids, their metabolites and cell-cell interactions; the inhibitors of fatty acid-derived mediators; as well as the biosynthesis and catabolism of platelet-activating factor. The cellular sources of platelet-activating factor and related lipids; the biological properties of platelet-activating factor; and the effects of platelet-activating factor receptor antagonists are also considered. Immunopharmacologists, immunologists, and pharmacologists will find the book invaluable.

John E. Kinsella, Dean ofthe College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California-Davis, passed away on May 2, 1993, at the age of 55. In August 1995, fonner students and post-doctoral fellows of Dr. Kinsella met at the American Chemical Society National Meeting in Chicago to convene a Symposium on Food Proteins and Lipids to honor Dr. Kinsella's enonnous contribution to the field of food science and nutrition. This book is a collection of papers presented at that symposium. A native of Ireland, Dr. Kinsella received his bachelor's degree in agricultural sciences in 1961 from the University of Dublin. He received his master's degree in biology in 1965 and a doctorate in food chemistry in 1967 from Pennsylvania State University. He joined the Food Science faculty at Cornell University in 1967. While at Cornell, he served as Chair of the Department of Food Science from 1977-1985 and Director of the Institute of Food Science from 1980-1987. He was designated Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Food Biochemistry in 1981, a Fulbright Fellow in 1983, and was selected as the General Foods Distinguished Professor of Food Science in 1984. He was named a Leading Professor in the State University of New York, the highest professorial honor in the SUNY system. In 1990 he joined the University of California at Davis as Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Dr.

This volume of The Enzymes summarizes the most important discoveries associated with a group of enzymes that play an important role in normal biological processes as presented and discussed by leaders authorities in the field. Contributions from leading authorities Informs and updates on all the latest developments in the field of enzymes

Platelet activating factor (PAF) is the most potent phospholipid agonist known to date. PAF has a wide variety of physiological effects and has also been implicated in patho-physiology of cells. Since the structural elucidation of PAF in 1979, several laboratories have embarked upon characterizing the PAF receptor and its signaling pathways. This book focuses on this aspect and presents the first comprehensive account of research in the area. It also examines developments on the PAF receptor, its cloning, molecular features, coupling to multiple signaling pathways, and relationship to nuclear gene expression. This is an excellent reference volume for all researchers studying PAF.