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Biological and Clinical Aspects of Superoxide and Superoxide Dismutase
43 A - Z o f Clinical Chemistry. A Guide for the Trainee b y W H o o d . pp. 386. M T P £7.95
Press Ltd, Lancaster, U K . 1980. I S B N 0-85200-311--0
If you want to find out more about Schumm's Test or Nelson's Syndrome, and if you don't know what a Street-Close Unit or a Cusum Plot is, this book may help you. It won't help you very much however because although it contains 'definitions' o f the above terms, these are minimal, bald and usually lack formulae or diagrams. Thus for Street-Close Unit we are given 'A unit in which amylase activity can be expressed', although this is not mentioned in the section on Amylase. To be fair the book is not designed to illuminate and entertain academic biochemists, but 'to help the trainee in clinical chemistry', and Dr Hood is in fact a Principal Biochemist in a hospital in England. The book takes the form o f a dictionary o f terms likely to be encountered in medical biochemistry laboratories. With 3-5 entries per page, 1 suppose there are well over a thousand entries, with a few lines of'definition' for most o f the entries. With one reservation the balance o f entries seemed to be a reasonable one. The exception I mention is that o f including a great number o f inborn errors o f metabolism, many o f them extremely rare, by name. Each time the reader is referred to Stanbury, Wyngaarden and Frederickson: The Metabolic Basis of Inherited Disease. Are trainees in clinical chemistry supposed to remember the names of all these rare inborn errors and indeed understand enough about metabolism for them to have any meaning to them? The level at which other biochemical information is imparted suggests that this is not so. Most o f the definitions have a 'path-lab' slant to them. Thus, 'hydroxyproline: an amino acid which can be measured in two types o f clinical conditions (1) Inborn errors . . . and (2) Bone diseases ..' But again to be fair, the paragraph about bone diseases does tell us that bone contains collagen and that this is the only protein containing significant amount o f hydroxyproline, etc., as well as saying briefly how to estimate it and giving a reference). If one looks up 'protein' the definition starts: 'The proteins in plasma include enzymes, transport protein, hormones • . .' - - nothing about proteins being made up o f amino acids linked by peptide bonds - - a n d then goes on to the 'causes o f raised/deceased serum total protein level.' One gets the feeling that if it isn't found in human serum or urine and doesn't change in amount in disease states, it doesn't state very much. I exaggerate but the message is that this book would not be o f much interest to the (non-clinical laboratory) biochemist. However, according to its declared purpose and audience, the book is a reasonably balanced and comprehensive effort. Nonetheless errors o f biochemical fact should be eliminated in future editions. There is for example no excuse for describing cerebrocuprein as copper storage protein found in the brain' - - it is in fact the enzyme superoxide dismutase. Nor is it right to say that 'caeruloplasmin, the protein which carries copper to the blood, has oxidase activity and can therefore be referred to as copper oxidase! It is fact a copper-containing oxidase and has been called 'ferroxidase'. In general cross-referencing is good and at the end there is a list of analytical textbooks and o f clinical textbooks, as well as a table o f the 'normal' ranges o f constituents o f biological fluids, C Jones
Biological and Clinical Aspects o f Superoxide and Superoxide Dismutase E d i t e d b y W H B a n n i s t e r and J V B a n n i s t e r . pp 434. E l s e v i e r / N o r t h - H o l l a n d ' D e v e l o p m e n t s in B i o c h e m i s t r y ' Series, V o l u m e I l B . 1980. t~23 I S B N 0--444-0t)443--2 This book contains the texts o f the forty-three papers presented at the FEBS-sponsored International Symposium on Superoxide and Superoxide l)ismutase held in Malta in October 1979. The title of the volume is accurate and the average paper is 5-10 pages long. As the editors say, the discovery ofsuperoxide dismutase opened a new field in the fuudamental eudeavour o f biologists to see and to show the impact of oxygen on living organisms. This present volume testifies to the fact that after over a decade o f research the field has by no means been exhausted. Those lectormg on this topic will find this book valuable, and those lecturing to medical students may find the clinically-orientated papers interesting and intrigtfing. E J Wood
BIOCHEMICAL EDUCATION 10 (1) 1982
Selected Methods in Cellular I m m u n o l o g y b y B B M i s h e l l and S M Shiigi. pp 486. W H F r e e m a n & C o , O x f o r d , U K . /980. ~17.70 ISBN 0-7167-1106-0 This book is envisaged as a manual for students, research students and research workers who wish to learn techniques principally m cdhdar immunology. As an undergraduate manual, it fails from several points o f view. First, most o f the experiments would be prohibitively expensive for classes o f any size. Second, it assumes the parent department is equipped to a standard rarely achieved even in the wealthy research institutes. Final/y, anyone using the book must have access to an expert immunologist so that he knows what things should look like - - this book will be o f no help in this respect as it is ahnost totally devoid of illustrations. The book may find a role with the Phi) student or early post-doctoral research worker. However, there arc books on the market which are more competitively priced for what they offer. (, Gowland
Department q/lmmunolo W The General Infirmary Leeds, UK
Fundamentals o f Human Lymphoid Cell Culture b y J L Glick, p p 157. M a r c e l D e k k e r Inc, N e w Y o r k . 1980. Sfr 52 ISBN 0-8247-6988-0 The development o f lymphoid cell culture in the mid-sixties provided a variety o f workers, though perhaps particularly those in the genetic and immunological fields, with a new and useful tool. A particular attraction o f the culture o f these cells is the relative simplicity o f the culture technique; these cells need no surface on which to grow, are not particularly fussy about their food and, once established can be subcultured simply by dilution. This means that some workers may enter the field o f cell culture by this route and for them this book will undoubtedly be useful. The first chapter, the longest, gives a review o f the derivation, application and biological properties o f lymphoid cell cultures. Most o f the remainder o f the fifteen chapters consists o f extracts o f a laboratory methods book. This gives a rather personal, didactic and dogmatic view o f methods which are by no means uniform in different laboratories and may give false confidence. Traditional tissue culture workers, cytogeneticists and virologists will find themselves irritated but this book is not intended for them. For those w h o need to use human lymphoid ceils 'and who have never attempted to grow cells before this little book will give them the information to get started; their own understanding and recipe books should follow.
Michael Faed
Department of Pathology University of Dundee Dundee, Scotland, UK
Autoxidation in Food and Biological Systems E d i t e d b y M G Sinic and M Karel. pp 659. P l e n u m P u b l i s h i n g C o r p , N e w York• 1980. $65 I S B N 0-306-40561 The current state o f research into the beneficial and deleterious effect o f autoxidation in foodstuffs and biological systems is amply dealt with in this multi-author text. The evidence for tree radical mechanisms in autoxidative systems is given, with a brief introduction about the use of electron spin resonance techniques and pulse radiolysis in mechanistic studies. The wide range o f material and synthetic antioxidants available is discussed. The role o f tocopherols and carotenoids is debated whilst biochemical systems which catalytically control autoxidative processes are considered. The response o f lipases and lipoxygeuases to tissue damage, and the removal o f superoxide by superoxide disnmtasc are described as illustrating the enzymatic control o f autoxidations in biochemical systems, The book offers a general introduction into the study o f radicals in biological oxidation.
Department qf lnor~,anic Chemistry University qt"Oxtbrd O.vford, UK
J V Bannister
Press Ltd, Lancaster, U K . 1980. I S B N 0-85200-311--0
If you want to find out more about Schumm's Test or Nelson's Syndrome, and if you don't know what a Street-Close Unit or a Cusum Plot is, this book may help you. It won't help you very much however because although it contains 'definitions' o f the above terms, these are minimal, bald and usually lack formulae or diagrams. Thus for Street-Close Unit we are given 'A unit in which amylase activity can be expressed', although this is not mentioned in the section on Amylase. To be fair the book is not designed to illuminate and entertain academic biochemists, but 'to help the trainee in clinical chemistry', and Dr Hood is in fact a Principal Biochemist in a hospital in England. The book takes the form o f a dictionary o f terms likely to be encountered in medical biochemistry laboratories. With 3-5 entries per page, 1 suppose there are well over a thousand entries, with a few lines of'definition' for most o f the entries. With one reservation the balance o f entries seemed to be a reasonable one. The exception I mention is that o f including a great number o f inborn errors o f metabolism, many o f them extremely rare, by name. Each time the reader is referred to Stanbury, Wyngaarden and Frederickson: The Metabolic Basis of Inherited Disease. Are trainees in clinical chemistry supposed to remember the names of all these rare inborn errors and indeed understand enough about metabolism for them to have any meaning to them? The level at which other biochemical information is imparted suggests that this is not so. Most o f the definitions have a 'path-lab' slant to them. Thus, 'hydroxyproline: an amino acid which can be measured in two types o f clinical conditions (1) Inborn errors . . . and (2) Bone diseases ..' But again to be fair, the paragraph about bone diseases does tell us that bone contains collagen and that this is the only protein containing significant amount o f hydroxyproline, etc., as well as saying briefly how to estimate it and giving a reference). If one looks up 'protein' the definition starts: 'The proteins in plasma include enzymes, transport protein, hormones • . .' - - nothing about proteins being made up o f amino acids linked by peptide bonds - - a n d then goes on to the 'causes o f raised/deceased serum total protein level.' One gets the feeling that if it isn't found in human serum or urine and doesn't change in amount in disease states, it doesn't state very much. I exaggerate but the message is that this book would not be o f much interest to the (non-clinical laboratory) biochemist. However, according to its declared purpose and audience, the book is a reasonably balanced and comprehensive effort. Nonetheless errors o f biochemical fact should be eliminated in future editions. There is for example no excuse for describing cerebrocuprein as copper storage protein found in the brain' - - it is in fact the enzyme superoxide dismutase. Nor is it right to say that 'caeruloplasmin, the protein which carries copper to the blood, has oxidase activity and can therefore be referred to as copper oxidase! It is fact a copper-containing oxidase and has been called 'ferroxidase'. In general cross-referencing is good and at the end there is a list of analytical textbooks and o f clinical textbooks, as well as a table o f the 'normal' ranges o f constituents o f biological fluids, C Jones
Biological and Clinical Aspects o f Superoxide and Superoxide Dismutase E d i t e d b y W H B a n n i s t e r and J V B a n n i s t e r . pp 434. E l s e v i e r / N o r t h - H o l l a n d ' D e v e l o p m e n t s in B i o c h e m i s t r y ' Series, V o l u m e I l B . 1980. t~23 I S B N 0--444-0t)443--2 This book contains the texts o f the forty-three papers presented at the FEBS-sponsored International Symposium on Superoxide and Superoxide l)ismutase held in Malta in October 1979. The title of the volume is accurate and the average paper is 5-10 pages long. As the editors say, the discovery ofsuperoxide dismutase opened a new field in the fuudamental eudeavour o f biologists to see and to show the impact of oxygen on living organisms. This present volume testifies to the fact that after over a decade o f research the field has by no means been exhausted. Those lectormg on this topic will find this book valuable, and those lecturing to medical students may find the clinically-orientated papers interesting and intrigtfing. E J Wood
BIOCHEMICAL EDUCATION 10 (1) 1982
Selected Methods in Cellular I m m u n o l o g y b y B B M i s h e l l and S M Shiigi. pp 486. W H F r e e m a n & C o , O x f o r d , U K . /980. ~17.70 ISBN 0-7167-1106-0 This book is envisaged as a manual for students, research students and research workers who wish to learn techniques principally m cdhdar immunology. As an undergraduate manual, it fails from several points o f view. First, most o f the experiments would be prohibitively expensive for classes o f any size. Second, it assumes the parent department is equipped to a standard rarely achieved even in the wealthy research institutes. Final/y, anyone using the book must have access to an expert immunologist so that he knows what things should look like - - this book will be o f no help in this respect as it is ahnost totally devoid of illustrations. The book may find a role with the Phi) student or early post-doctoral research worker. However, there arc books on the market which are more competitively priced for what they offer. (, Gowland
Department q/lmmunolo W The General Infirmary Leeds, UK
Fundamentals o f Human Lymphoid Cell Culture b y J L Glick, p p 157. M a r c e l D e k k e r Inc, N e w Y o r k . 1980. Sfr 52 ISBN 0-8247-6988-0 The development o f lymphoid cell culture in the mid-sixties provided a variety o f workers, though perhaps particularly those in the genetic and immunological fields, with a new and useful tool. A particular attraction o f the culture o f these cells is the relative simplicity o f the culture technique; these cells need no surface on which to grow, are not particularly fussy about their food and, once established can be subcultured simply by dilution. This means that some workers may enter the field o f cell culture by this route and for them this book will undoubtedly be useful. The first chapter, the longest, gives a review o f the derivation, application and biological properties o f lymphoid cell cultures. Most o f the remainder o f the fifteen chapters consists o f extracts o f a laboratory methods book. This gives a rather personal, didactic and dogmatic view o f methods which are by no means uniform in different laboratories and may give false confidence. Traditional tissue culture workers, cytogeneticists and virologists will find themselves irritated but this book is not intended for them. For those w h o need to use human lymphoid ceils 'and who have never attempted to grow cells before this little book will give them the information to get started; their own understanding and recipe books should follow.
Michael Faed
Department of Pathology University of Dundee Dundee, Scotland, UK
Autoxidation in Food and Biological Systems E d i t e d b y M G Sinic and M Karel. pp 659. P l e n u m P u b l i s h i n g C o r p , N e w York• 1980. $65 I S B N 0-306-40561 The current state o f research into the beneficial and deleterious effect o f autoxidation in foodstuffs and biological systems is amply dealt with in this multi-author text. The evidence for tree radical mechanisms in autoxidative systems is given, with a brief introduction about the use of electron spin resonance techniques and pulse radiolysis in mechanistic studies. The wide range o f material and synthetic antioxidants available is discussed. The role o f tocopherols and carotenoids is debated whilst biochemical systems which catalytically control autoxidative processes are considered. The response o f lipases and lipoxygeuases to tissue damage, and the removal o f superoxide by superoxide disnmtasc are described as illustrating the enzymatic control o f autoxidations in biochemical systems, The book offers a general introduction into the study o f radicals in biological oxidation.
Department qf lnor~,anic Chemistry University qt"Oxtbrd O.vford, UK
J V Bannister