Cell Biology by the Numbers


Book Description

A Top 25 CHOICE 2016 Title, and recipient of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title (OAT) Award. How much energy is released in ATP hydrolysis? How many mRNAs are in a cell? How genetically similar are two random people? What is faster, transcription or translation?Cell Biology by the Numbers explores these questions and dozens of others provid




Essentials of Glycobiology


Book Description

Sugar chains (glycans) are often attached to proteins and lipids and have multiple roles in the organization and function of all organisms. "Essentials of Glycobiology" describes their biogenesis and function and offers a useful gateway to the understanding of glycans.




Physical Biology of the Cell


Book Description

Physical Biology of the Cell is a textbook for a first course in physical biology or biophysics for undergraduate or graduate students. It maps the huge and complex landscape of cell and molecular biology from the distinct perspective of physical biology. As a key organizing principle, the proximity of topics is based on the physical concepts that




Autophagy and Cancer


Book Description

With the explosion of information on autophagy in cancer, this is an opportune time to speed the efforts to translate our current knowledge about autophagy regulation into better understanding of its role in cancer. This book will cover the latest advances in this area from the basics, such as the molecular machinery for autophagy induction and regulation, up to the current areas of interest such as modulation of autophagy and drug discovery for cancer prevention and treatment. The text will include an explanation on how autophagy can function in both oncogenesis and tumor suppression and a description of its function in tumor development and tumor suppression through its roles in cell survival, cell death, cell growth as well as its influences on inflammation, immunity, DNA damage, oxidative stress, tumor microenvironment, etc. The remaining chapters will cover topics on autophagy and cancer therapy. These pages will serve as a description on how the pro-survival function of autophagy may help cancer cells resist chemotherapy and radiation treatment as well as how the pro-death functions of autophagy may enhance cell death in response to cancer therapy, and how to target autophagy for cancer prevention and therapy − what to target and how to target it. ​




Regulation of Organelle and Cell Compartment Signaling


Book Description

"Cell signaling, which is also often referred to as signal transduction or, in more specialized cases, transmembrane signaling, is the process by which cells communicate with their environment and respond temporally to external cues that they sense there. All cells have the capacity to achieve this to some degree, albeit with a wide variation in purpose, mechanism, and response. At the same time, there is a remarkable degree of similarity over quite a range of species, particularly in the eukaryotic kingdom, and comparative physiology has been a useful tool in the development of this field. The central importance of this general phenomenon (sensing of external stimuli by cells) has been appreciated for a long time, but it has truly become a dominant part of cell and molecular biology research in the past three decades, in part because a description of the dynamic responses of cells to external stimuli is, in essence, a description of the life process itself. This approach lies at the core of the developing fields of proteomics and metabolomics, and its importance to human and animal health is already plainly evident"--Provided by publisher.




Plant Mitochondria


Book Description

The chapters compiled in this detailed collection outline a number of methods used to study plant mitochondria today, starting from the isolation of mitochondria to detailed analyses of RNA, protein and enzymatic activities. Given that the ability to uncover mitochondria’s unique features is underpinned by current methodology, this book explores the subject from morphology to detailed molecular mechanisms. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Practical and authoritative, Plant Mitochondria: Methods and Protocols serves as a vital resource to beginners in the field as well as to expert researchers who find themselves being pulled into the field of mitochondrial research as it links to so many important aspects of plant cell biology.




The Extracellular Matrix: an Overview


Book Description

Knowledge of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is essential to understand cellular differentiation, tissue development, and tissue remodeling. This volume of the series “Biology of Extracellular Matrix” provides a timely overview of the structure, regulation, and function of the major macromolecules that make up the extracellular matrix. It covers topics such as collagen types and assembly of collagen-containing suprastructures, basement membrane, fibronectin and other cell-adhesive glycoproteins, proteoglycans, microfibrils, elastin, fibulins and matricellular proteins, such as thrombospondin. It also explores the concept that ECM components together with their cell surface receptors can be viewed as intricate nano-devices that allow cells to physically organize their 3-D-environment. Further, the role of the ECM in human disease and pathogenesis is discussed as well as the use of model organisms in elucidating ECM function.




Encyclopedia of Molecular Pharmacology


Book Description

An essential text, this is a fully updated second edition of a classic, now in two volumes. It provides rapid access to information on molecular pharmacology for research scientists, clinicians and advanced students. With the A-Z format of over 2,000 entries, around 350 authors provide a complete reference to the area of molecular pharmacology. The book combines the knowledge of classic pharmacology with the more recent approach of the precise analysis of the molecular mechanisms by which drugs exert their effects. Short keyword entries define common acronyms, terms and phrases. In addition, detailed essays provide in-depth information on drugs, cellular processes, molecular targets, techniques, molecular mechanisms, and general principles.




Vacuolar Compartments


Book Description

Research into plant vacuoles has, over the last 5 years, been injected with new data which have already radically changed our concept of the vacuolar compartment in plant cells. In fact, we should no longer speak of the vacuole, but rather of vacuolar compartments. This is a revolutionary change in the way in which the plant cell has traditionally been presented in the biological literature. Vacuolar Compartments is a timely volume that provides a broad overview of our current understanding of the roles of vacuolar compartments in plant cells. Chapters focus on individual function of plant vacuoles and the tonoplast machinery that supports them. Additional chapters present up-to-date information on the identity of different vacuole types and the traffic of proteins to them. The book also provides a basis for comparing the plant system to vacuoles in other organisms. The present challenge is to understand how the separate organelles in the system are generated and maintained by the cell, and to explain at a biochemical level the functions of each vacuole type and the mechanisms by which they are achieved. Vacuolar Compartments is the first book to provide this perspective.