Cooperation of Liver Cells in Health and Disease


Book Description

It is only during the last decade that the functions of sinusoidal endothelial cells, Kupffer cells, hepatic stellate cells, pit cells and other intrahepatic lymphocytes have been better understood. The development of methods for isolation and co-culturing various types of liver cells has established that they communicate and cooperate via secretion of various intercellular mediators. This monograph summarizes multiple data that suggest the important role of cellular cross-talk for the functions of both normal and diseased liver. Special features of the book include concise presentation of the majority of detailed data in 19 tables. Original schemes allow for the clear illustration of complicated intercellular relationships. This is the first ever presentation of the newly emerging field of liver biology, which is important for hepatic function in health and disease and opens new avenues for therapeutic interventions.




The EGF Receptor Family


Book Description

The enormity of the literature on growth factors, plus the breadth of the biological disciplines and technical expertise required prohibits a comprehensive review by even a multi-disciplinary panel of authors. To provide an alternative that is feasible for authors and digestible by readers, this review compendium consists of a collection of articles, each covering an aspect of teh ErbB/EGF field. This compilation features articles on growth factor ligands, neuregulins, and individual receptors. The second part of the book concentrates on the biological context of the ErbB receptors, particularly in mammary development and in cancer. It concludes with a discussion of the genetic systems that have enabled significant advances in research in this area.




Molecular Targeting and Signal Transduction


Book Description

Our limited understanding of cellular regulatory signal-transduction-networks has been a barrier to progress in improving the overall cure-rate of human cancers. Delineation of the physiologic roles of the specific regulatory signaling components, with known association with metastatic phenotypes, is a highly promising area which will likely provide the next generation of targeted strategies in the future of molecular cancer medicine. These signaling components are likely to be used in diagnosis, prognosis, and as novel targets for therapeutic development. This book brings together up-to-date summaries by leading cancer researchers on the major principles of cancer cell biology: survival, apoptosis, adhesion, and cell cycle deregulation. It is directed at clinicians and scientists working in the areas of experimental and molecular therapeutics, molecular medicine, translational cancer research, and bio-medical sciences in general.




The Cell Cycle in the Central Nervous System


Book Description

Cell Cycle in the Central Nervous System overviews the changes in cell cycle as they relate to prenatal and post natal brain development, progression to neurological disease or tumor formation.Topics covered range from the cell cycle during the prenatal development of the mammalian central nervous system to future directions in postnatal neurogenesis through gene transfer, electrical stimulation, and stem cell introduction. Additional chapters examine the postnatal development of neurons and glia, the regulation of cell cycle in glia, and how that regulation may fail in pretumor conditions or following a nonneoplastic CNS response to injury. Highlights include treatments of the effects of deep brain stimulation on brain development and repair; the connection between the electrophysiological properties of neuroglia, cell cycle, and tumor progression; and the varied immunological responses and their regulation by cell cycle.




The Cytokine Factsbook and Webfacts


Book Description

Completely revised and expanded, this second edition of The Cytokine FactsBook is the most up-to-date reference manual available for all current well-characterized interleukins, cytokines, and their receptors. An additional 52 cytokines are included, doubling the number of entries from the previous edition. The key properties of each cytokine are described and presented in a very accessible format with diagrams for each of the receptors. The Cytokine FactsBook includes free online access to the regularly updated Cytokine Webfacts. Cytokine Webfacts is a web-based comprehensive compendium of facts about cytokines and their receptors that includes a variety of data representations, such as text, signal pathway diagrams and 3D images. This exciting resource is integrated into other databases via hypertext links to provide a unique network, and contains a web-enabled version of RasMol for viewing structures.




Free Energy Calculations


Book Description

Free energy constitutes the most important thermodynamic quantity to understand how chemical species recognize each other, associate or react. Examples of problems in which knowledge of the underlying free energy behaviour is required, include conformational equilibria and molecular association, partitioning between immiscible liquids, receptor-drug interaction, protein-protein and protein-DNA association, and protein stability. This volume sets out to present a coherent and comprehensive account of the concepts that underlie different approaches devised for the determination of free energies. The reader will gain the necessary insight into the theoretical and computational foundations of the subject and will be presented with relevant applications from molecular-level modelling and simulations of chemical and biological systems. Both formally accurate and approximate methods are covered using both classical and quantum mechanical descriptions. A central theme of the book is that the wide variety of free energy calculation techniques available today can be understood as different implementations of a few basic principles. The book is aimed at a broad readership of graduate students and researchers having a background in chemistry, physics, engineering and physical biology.




HER2-Positive Breast Cancer


Book Description

Get a quick, expert overview of clinically-focused topics and guidelines that are relevant to testing for HER2, which contributes to approximately 25% of breast cancers today. This concise resource by Drs. Sara Hurvitz, and Kelly McCann consolidates today's available information on this growing topic into one convenient resource, making it an ideal, easy-to-digest reference for practicing and trainee oncologists. - Covers the diagnosis, treatments and targeted therapies, and management of breast cancers that are HER2-positive. - Contains sections on background and testing, advanced disease, therapeutics, and toxicity considerations. - Includes a timely section on innovative future therapies.




Molecular Pharming


Book Description

A single volume collection that surveys the exciting field of plant-made pharmaceuticals and industrial proteins This comprehensive book communicates the recent advances and exciting potential for the expanding area of plant biotechnology and is divided into six sections. The first three sections look at the current status of the field, and advances in plant platforms and strategies for improving yields, downstream processing, and controlling post-translational modifications of plant-made recombinant proteins. Section four reviews high-value industrial and pharmacological proteins that are successfully being produced in established and emerging plant platforms. The fifth section looks at regulatory challenges facing the expansion of the field. The final section turns its focus toward small molecule therapeutics, drug screening, plant specialized metabolites, and plants as model organisms to study human disease processes. Molecular Pharming: Applications, Challenges and Emerging Areas offers in-depth coverage of molecular biology of plant expression systems and manipulation of glycosylation processes in plants; plant platforms, subcellular targeting, recovery, and downstream processing; plant-derived protein pharmaceuticals and case studies; regulatory issues; and emerging areas. It is a valuable resource for researchers that are in the field of plant molecular pharming, as well as for those conducting basic research in gene expression, protein quality control, and other subjects relevant to molecular and cellular biology. Broad ranging coverage of a key area of plant biotechnology Describes efforts to produce pharmaceutical and industrial proteins in plants Provides reviews of recent advances and technology breakthroughs Assesses realities of regulatory and cost hurdles Forward looking with coverage of small molecule technologies and the use of plants as models of human disease processes Providing wide-ranging and unique coverage, Molecular Pharming: Applications, Challenges and Emerging Areas will be of great interest to the plant science, plant biotechnology, protein science, and pharmacological communities.




Oxford Textbook of Oncology


Book Description

Written and edited by internationally recognised leaders in the field, the new edition of the Oxford Textbook of Oncology has been fully revised and updated, taking into consideration the advancements in each of the major therapeutic areas, and representing the multidisciplinary management of cancer. Structured in six sections, the book provides an accessible scientific basis to the key topics of oncology, examining how cancer cells grow and function, as well as discussing the aetiology of cancer, and the general principles governing modern approaches to oncology treatment. The book examines the challenges presented by the treatment of cancer on a larger scale within population groups, and the importance of recognising and supporting the needs of individual patients, both during and after treatment. A series of disease-oriented, case-based chapters, ranging from acute leukaemia to colon cancer, highlight the various approaches available for managing the cancer patient, including the translational application of cancer science in order to personalise treatment. The advice imparted in these cases has relevance worldwide, and reflects a modern approach to cancer care. The Oxford Textbook of Oncology provides a comprehensive account of the multiple aspects of best practice in the discipline, making it an indispensable resource for oncologists of all grades and subspecialty interests.




Inpatient Dermatology


Book Description

​​​ Inpatient Dermatology is a concise and portable resource that synthesizes the most essential material to help physicians with recognition, differential diagnosis, work-up, and treatment of dermatologic issues in the hospitalized patient. Complete with hundreds of clinical and pathologic images, this volume is both an inpatient dermatology atlas and a practical guide to day-one, initial work-up, and management plan for common and rare skin diseases that occur in the inpatient setting. Each chapter is a bulleted, easy-to-read reference that focuses on one specific inpatient dermatologic condition, with carefully curated clinical photographs and corresponding histopathologic images to aid readers in developing clinical-pathologic correlation for the dermatologic diseases encountered in the hospital. Before each subsection the editors share diagnostic pearls, explaining their approach to these challenging conditions. This book is structured to be useful to physicians, residents, and medical students. It spans dermatology, emergency medicine, internal medicine, infectious disease, and rheumatology. Inpatient Dermatology is the go-to guide for hospital-based skin diseases, making even the most complex inpatient dermatologic issues approachable and understandable for any clinician.