Glycolipids, Phosphoglycolipids, and Sulfoglycolipids


Book Description

The early history and development of the field of glycolipids was concerned mainly with the predominant glycolipids found in higher animal tissues, namely the glycosphingolipids, as has been extensively documented by J. N. Kanfer and S. Hakomori in Volume 3 of this series. The major glycolipids in organisms of the plant kingdom, however, such as bacteria, yeasts and fungi, algae, and higher plants, are glycoglycerolipids, although glycosphingolipids are also present as minor components in these organisms, except for bacteria. It is of interest that one of the pioneers in glycosphingolipid research, Herbert E. Carter, also pioneered the discovery and structural elucidation of the plant galactosyldiacylglycerols. This class of glycolipids is present in chlo roplast membranes and must surely be one of the most ubiquitous and abun dant natural substances in the world, thereby deserving the attention of lipid biochemists. It is therefore surprising to learn that in contrast to the glycosphingolipids, which were discovered in the 1870s, glycoglycerolipids were not discovered until the 1950s. Since that time investigations of the structure and distribution of these glycolipids have proceeded at an exponen tially increasing rate, and much information is now available for representa tives of many genera of bacteria, yeasts, algae, and higher plants. Glycoglyce rolipids have also been identified in animal cells, particularly in the brain, testes, and sperm.







Handbook of Cyanobacteria


Book Description

This handbook acquaints readers with the exciting developments in various areas of cyanobacterial research in the backdrop of the publication of complete genome sequence of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 in 1996. It begins with a summary of the current knowledge on the taxonomy, phylogeny and evolution of cyanobacteria followe




The Metabolism, Structure, and Function of Plant Lipids


Book Description

The Seventh International Symposium on the Structure and Function of Plant Lipids took place at the University of California, Davis, California July 27th to August 1st, 1986. This was the first time the Symposium was held in the United States. The list of previous host cities reads, Norwich, Karlsruhe, Goteborg, Paris, Groningen, Neuchatel. The addition of Davis to this distinguished list was made by the organizers with the doubts of people who give invitations to parties - will anybody come? In fact 155 participants registered and there were 21 spouses in attendance. The scientific program was composed of nine sessions: biochemistry of isoprenoids and sterols, function of isoprenoids and sterols, structure and function of lipids, biosynthesis of complex lipids, fatty acid oxygenases and desaturases, medium and long chain fatty acids, interaction of university, government and industrial research, algal lipids, and genetics and biotechnology. In addition to these sessions of plenary lectures, there were four poster sessions in which about 140 posters were presented. All of this was packed into four days, and there was some comment about the scarcity of time to ask questions of the speakers, discuss the posters and even to eat lunch. The compression of the program was a result of the continued desire of the organizing committees to avoid concurrent sessions. The congregation of participants into a single session increases interaction and generates a feeling of unity at these symposia.







Precision Cancer Therapies, Volume 2: Immunologic Approaches for the Treatment of Lymphoid Malignancies


Book Description

Presents timely and authoritative information on the development of precision cancer therapies as applied to hematologic malignancies The Precision Cancer Therapies series focuses on how to understand and translate fundamental basic science into information that can be directly applied to patients to advance care. Each volume of the series integrates the relevant biological concepts and principles necessary for translating this science to practitioners of this science. Precision Cancer Therapies, Volume Two, focuses on sophisticated immunotherapies targeting cancers affecting the blood, bone marrow, and lymph nodes. Edited and authored by the foremost authorities in the field, this comprehensive reference text covers targeting of cell surface receptors, antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), targeting immune checkpoint, targeting macrophages, EBV-directed immunotherapies, tumor-associated antigens (TAA), and chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-T). Divided into nine sections, Volume Two includes an overview of the history of immunotherapy development in cancer, as well as a concluding section addressing the mechanistic basis and role of immunomodulatory drugs, analytical tools to quantitate immune-mediated effects, and other topics in immunotherapy. Chapters on specific therapeutics or therapeutic classes include a basic explanation of the underlying pathway and target, the pharmacology of the drug/class, relevant preclinical and clinical data, and discussion of clinical management and potential predictive biomarkers of response. This book also: Delivers a definitive, state-of-the-art review of the relevant biology and its importance in the broader context of cancer biology Focuses on agents that mediate cell killing in lymphoma through a variety of immunologic mechanisms Covers FDA-approved drugs and their indications, as well as drugs currently in development Provides information on monotherapy and combination therapy, summary tables of trials, and discussion of toxicity and efficacy Includes boxed sections highlighting major unique points about the information in the chapter Precision Cancer Therapies, Volume Two: Immunologic Approaches for the Treatment of Lymphoid Malignancies, From Concept to Practice is an indispensable resource for medical, scientific, and allied medical professionals, advanced students, and interested general readers with background knowledge in the subject.




Anti-Inflammatory Drug Discovery


Book Description

A comprehensive review of recent medicinal chemistry approaches to a variety of important therapeutic targets and a key reference for those interested in the prosecution of modern drug discovery programs directed at anti-inflammatory mechanisms of action.




Parasitism: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly


Book Description

Parasitism is a tight association between species in which one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside the host, causing it harm, and is structurally adapted to this way of life. Until the twenty-first century, parasitism was studied by parasitologists, rather than ecologists or evolutionary biologists. Today, parasitism is a major element of evolutionary ecology, as nearly all free-living animals are hosts to at least one parasite species. Since it is in the parasite's evolutionary interest for its host to flourish, long-term coevolution can lead to a stable relationship bordering on mutualism. According to Lynn Margulis, when resources are scarce, natural selection, moves relationships from parasitism to mutualism, as it was brilliantly illustrated in Margulis' endosymbiosis theory, where eukaryotic mitochondria and chloroplasts descended from formerly free-living prokaryotes. Boundary between mutualism, symbiosis, and pathological parasitism is a thin red line that frequently overlapping without a theory enough clear to explain this thigh relationship between the parasite and its host.