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Calcium regulation of cellular function (advances in second messenger and phosphoprotein research Vol. 30)
MISCELLANEA
of editorial creativity is required to assemble relevant and interesting overviews of laboratory techniques. In this regard Dunbar and the contributors have succeeded. My enthusiasm
All the calcium need
you
Calcium Regulation of Cellular Function (Advances in Second Messenger and Phosphoprotein Research Vol. 30) edited by A. R. Means, Raven Press, 199.5. 8 725.00 (4 16 pages) ISBN 0 7817 0233 X My first step in preparing an undergraduate lecture is to go to the heavy volumes of reviews such as those of the Annual Reviews series. My most important requirement is that the reviews be comprehensive. It is so easy in science to plough one’s own narrower and narrower furrow, so I need to be told everything going on in the field and I need a comprehensive list of references to enable me to read up on areas that are new to me. A good review, of course, will do much more. It will give a sense of the excitement of research in the field. It will set about a mass of confusing terminology and make all clear. (My favourite here is a review by Morgan and Curran on c-fos’. I had become interested in Ca2+ and gene transcription, but was utterly at sea with various elements, genes and proteins, all of which appeared to be called AP-1. Morgan and Curran’s article made all clear.) Finally, a good review will identify areas that are not clear, and reassure the readers that although they may be confused, so are those who are doing the experiments. This volume, Calcium Regulation of Cellular Function, contains one such jewel. The title of Campbell and Strauss’ chapter is as dry as dust ‘Regulation of calcium channels in the heart’and it delivers on comprehensiveness. However, it is also critical, alerting the reader to problems with TRENDS
IN CELL BIOLOGY
VOL.
5 JUNE
for this volume is tempered somewhat only by my expectation of a more comprehensive presentation of chemiluminescent detection technology. This modestly priced volume
will be appreciated by those who are contemplating the enjoyable experience of protein blotting as well as by those who practise blotting routinely.
the subtraction method of estimating currents through T-type channels, and it is amusing and reassuring where it ventures ‘into the frequently muddied waters of detail’ in the confusing area of L-channel modulation. For me, none of the other chapters matches Campbell and Strauss’. Most deliver on the basic criterion of completeness. One that fails is Rosen, Cinty and Greenberg’s review on Ca2+-mediated regulation of gene expression. To my mind, the best example of this phenomenon is the control of the interleukin 2 (IL-2) gene by the calmodulin-regulated enzymes calcineurin and CaM-kinase. Not only is the whole pathway identified, from physiological stimulus to physiological response, but there is a clear medical relevance: cyclosporin, by blocking
calcineurin and hence IL-2 production, prevents an immune response to transplanted organs. This pathway appears only as one line in a table in Rosen et a/.‘s chapter. However, it does appear later, in Cardenas and Heitman’s chapter on T-lymphocyte activation, but no na’ive reader would think to look there. So, this thirtieth volume is a worthy addition to the series. It will bring many readers up to date on the subject, send many off in search of research papers of which they were unaware - and it contains a jewel in the form of Campbell and Strauss’ review. You will use this book.
Seeing is believing Biological Microtechnique (Microscopy Handbook 28 of Royal Microscopical Society) by 1. 6. Sanderson, Bias Scientific Publishers, 7 994. 835. OOE78.50 (224 pages) ISBN 7 872748 42 2
This book contains a very large quantity of information about the preparation of specimens for optical microscopy. It covers tissue fixation, dehydration, embedding, sectioning, stains and staining. There are many recipes, although few step-by-step protocols. There is a considerable amount of literature referred to. All these things make the book very handy to have by you on the shelf of your histology lab. It would be very useful too for students or trainee technical staff, or indeed for use in teaching short courses. 1995
Stephen Bolrover Dept
of
Physiology, University
Reference 1
MORGAN,
London, J. I. and CURRAN, T. (1991)
Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 12, 343-349
On the down side, despite its title and what it says (or doesn’t say) in the preface, the book seems to address mostly the preparation of animal and human tissue, rather than, say, plant tissue and bacteria. It thus concentrates on specimen preparation in one important sphere of biological microscopy: by no stretch of the imagination does it embrace all of what is implied by the title! Furthermore, the book seems to be very much about the concerns of enthusiasts. How many full-time technologists ring-seal their slides with cement on a turntable these days? Many professional labs make and file thousands of slides per month, and they entered the ‘throwaway era’ long ago. In addition, professional microscopy falls into a number of rather separate camps. Each of these has its own literature on fixation, specimen shrinkage, extraction, deactivation, and like topics. The book does not really make this clear. In conclusion, this is a pleasant and useful book that enthusiasts will enjoy and find useful - but maybe there is still a need for a book that serves as an introductory platform for professionals in biological and biomedical microscopy.
College Cower
St, London,
UK
WC1 E 6BT.
Mike A. Williams Dept
of
Biomedical Science, University Sheffield, Bank,
of Western
Sheffield,
UK SIO 2TN.
257
of editorial creativity is required to assemble relevant and interesting overviews of laboratory techniques. In this regard Dunbar and the contributors have succeeded. My enthusiasm
All the calcium need
you
Calcium Regulation of Cellular Function (Advances in Second Messenger and Phosphoprotein Research Vol. 30) edited by A. R. Means, Raven Press, 199.5. 8 725.00 (4 16 pages) ISBN 0 7817 0233 X My first step in preparing an undergraduate lecture is to go to the heavy volumes of reviews such as those of the Annual Reviews series. My most important requirement is that the reviews be comprehensive. It is so easy in science to plough one’s own narrower and narrower furrow, so I need to be told everything going on in the field and I need a comprehensive list of references to enable me to read up on areas that are new to me. A good review, of course, will do much more. It will give a sense of the excitement of research in the field. It will set about a mass of confusing terminology and make all clear. (My favourite here is a review by Morgan and Curran on c-fos’. I had become interested in Ca2+ and gene transcription, but was utterly at sea with various elements, genes and proteins, all of which appeared to be called AP-1. Morgan and Curran’s article made all clear.) Finally, a good review will identify areas that are not clear, and reassure the readers that although they may be confused, so are those who are doing the experiments. This volume, Calcium Regulation of Cellular Function, contains one such jewel. The title of Campbell and Strauss’ chapter is as dry as dust ‘Regulation of calcium channels in the heart’and it delivers on comprehensiveness. However, it is also critical, alerting the reader to problems with TRENDS
IN CELL BIOLOGY
VOL.
5 JUNE
for this volume is tempered somewhat only by my expectation of a more comprehensive presentation of chemiluminescent detection technology. This modestly priced volume
will be appreciated by those who are contemplating the enjoyable experience of protein blotting as well as by those who practise blotting routinely.
the subtraction method of estimating currents through T-type channels, and it is amusing and reassuring where it ventures ‘into the frequently muddied waters of detail’ in the confusing area of L-channel modulation. For me, none of the other chapters matches Campbell and Strauss’. Most deliver on the basic criterion of completeness. One that fails is Rosen, Cinty and Greenberg’s review on Ca2+-mediated regulation of gene expression. To my mind, the best example of this phenomenon is the control of the interleukin 2 (IL-2) gene by the calmodulin-regulated enzymes calcineurin and CaM-kinase. Not only is the whole pathway identified, from physiological stimulus to physiological response, but there is a clear medical relevance: cyclosporin, by blocking
calcineurin and hence IL-2 production, prevents an immune response to transplanted organs. This pathway appears only as one line in a table in Rosen et a/.‘s chapter. However, it does appear later, in Cardenas and Heitman’s chapter on T-lymphocyte activation, but no na’ive reader would think to look there. So, this thirtieth volume is a worthy addition to the series. It will bring many readers up to date on the subject, send many off in search of research papers of which they were unaware - and it contains a jewel in the form of Campbell and Strauss’ review. You will use this book.
Seeing is believing Biological Microtechnique (Microscopy Handbook 28 of Royal Microscopical Society) by 1. 6. Sanderson, Bias Scientific Publishers, 7 994. 835. OOE78.50 (224 pages) ISBN 7 872748 42 2
This book contains a very large quantity of information about the preparation of specimens for optical microscopy. It covers tissue fixation, dehydration, embedding, sectioning, stains and staining. There are many recipes, although few step-by-step protocols. There is a considerable amount of literature referred to. All these things make the book very handy to have by you on the shelf of your histology lab. It would be very useful too for students or trainee technical staff, or indeed for use in teaching short courses. 1995
Stephen Bolrover Dept
of
Physiology, University
Reference 1
MORGAN,
London, J. I. and CURRAN, T. (1991)
Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 12, 343-349
On the down side, despite its title and what it says (or doesn’t say) in the preface, the book seems to address mostly the preparation of animal and human tissue, rather than, say, plant tissue and bacteria. It thus concentrates on specimen preparation in one important sphere of biological microscopy: by no stretch of the imagination does it embrace all of what is implied by the title! Furthermore, the book seems to be very much about the concerns of enthusiasts. How many full-time technologists ring-seal their slides with cement on a turntable these days? Many professional labs make and file thousands of slides per month, and they entered the ‘throwaway era’ long ago. In addition, professional microscopy falls into a number of rather separate camps. Each of these has its own literature on fixation, specimen shrinkage, extraction, deactivation, and like topics. The book does not really make this clear. In conclusion, this is a pleasant and useful book that enthusiasts will enjoy and find useful - but maybe there is still a need for a book that serves as an introductory platform for professionals in biological and biomedical microscopy.
College Cower
St, London,
UK
WC1 E 6BT.
Mike A. Williams Dept
of
Biomedical Science, University Sheffield, Bank,
of Western
Sheffield,
UK SIO 2TN.
257