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Expounding endocrinology
TIBS 1 6 -
SEPTEMBER 1 9 9 1
Bibphys. Mol. Biol. 44, 97-179 We have also characterized at atomic 8 Barlow, D. J. and Thornton, J. M. (1988) J. MoL resolution a 3~0-helix subtype, the Biol. 201, 601-619 IS-bend ribbon zS, by solving the X-ray 9 Robbins, A. H, and Stout, C. D. (1989) Prot. Struct. Funct. Genet. 5, 289-312 diffraction structures of the sequential peptides pBrBz-(Aib-Pro),-Aib-OMe with 10 Pathak, D. and Ollis, D. (1990) J. MoL BioL 214, 497-525 n = 3,4 (C. Tonioli and E. Benedetti, 11 Alber, T. et aL (1988) Science 239, 631-635 unpublished). In this approximate 320- 12 Dijkstra, B. W. et aL (1983) J. Mol. Biol. 168, 163-179 helix, due to the nature of the con13 Marshall, G. (1971) in Intra-Science Chemistry stituent amino acids, an alternating Report Vol. 5 (Kharasch, N., ed.), pp. 305-316, presence/absence of the intramolecular Gordon and Breach C=O...H-N hydrogen bond is observed 14 Toniolo, C. and Benedetti, E. (1988) ISl Atlas Sci. Biochem. 1, 225-230 (Fig. 4). This novel polypeptide confor15 Bavoso, A. et aL (1986) Prec. Natl Acad. SCi. mation may be of relevance in developUSA83,1988-1992 ing structural models for peptaibol 16 Bavoso, A. et al. (1988) J. Biomol. Struct. Dyn. 5, 803-817 antibiotics and for the numerous (XPro), (with X ;~ Pro) segments found in 17 Pavone, V. et al. (1990) J. Biomol. Struct. Dyn. 7,1321-1331 proteins 29.30. 18 Pavone, V. et al. (1990) J. MoL BioL 214,
References 1 Taylor, H. S. (1941) Proc. Am. Phil. SCc.85,1-7 2 Huggins, M. L. (1943) Chem. Rev. 32,195-218 3 Bragg, L., Kendrew, J. C. and Perutz, M. F. (1950) Proc. R. Soc. London A203, 321-357 4 Donohue, J. (1953) Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 39, 470-478 5 Ramachandran, G. N., Venkatachalam, C. M. and Krimm, S. (1966) Biophys. J. 6, 849-872 6 Toniolo, C. (1980) CRC Crit. Rev. Biochem. 9, 1-44 7 Baker, E. N. and Hubbard, R. E. (1984) Prog.
24 Benedetti, E. et aL (1982) ;~:oc. Natl Acad. SCL USA 79, 7951-7954 25 Fox, R. 0., Jr and Richards, F. M. (1982) Nature 300, 325-330 26 Le Bars, M., Bachet, B. and Moman, J. P. (1988) Zeit. Kristallogr. 185, 588 27 Valle, G. et aL (1989) J. Am. Chem. SCc. 111, 6828-6833 28 Karle, I. L., Rippen-Anderson,J., Sukumar, M. and Balaram, P. (1987) Proc. NatlAcad. SCi. USA 84, 5087-5091 29 Abillon, E., Bremier, L. and Cardinaud, R. (1990) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1037, 394-400 30 Quax-Jeuken,¥. et aL (1984) J. MoL Biol. 180, 457-472
TIB$
633-635 19 Shamala, N., Nagaraj, R. and Balaram, P. (1978) .I. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun.996-997 20 Kokkinidis, M., Gessmann, R., Vlassi, M. and Br~ckner, H. (1990) Acta Crystallogr. A46 suppl., C.140, PS,04.01.15 21 Souhassou, M., Smith, G. D., Leplawy, M. T. and Marshall, G. R. (1990) Acta Crystallogr. A46 suppl., C-140/C-141, PS/)4.01.16 22 Marshall, G. R. et aL (1990) Proc. Natl Acad. SCi. USA87, 487-491 23 Okuyama, K., Tanaka, N., Doi, M. and Narita, M. (1988) Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn 61, 3115-3120
an enjoyable way o f 'keeping
in touch with
all that's new in biochemistry.
BOOKREVIEWS Expoundingendocrinology Hormones:FromMoleculesto Disease edited by E.E. Baulleu and P. A. Kelly, Chapman and Hall, 1990. £ 4 5 . 0 0 / $ 6 2 . 5 0 (ii + 6 9 7 pages) ISBN 0 4 1 2 02791 7
In the past decade the advances made in endocrinology have been enormous. They include the discovery of new hormones, new locations of their production and their mechanisms of action. Advances in molecular biology and immunology techniques have allowed the elucidation of the gene sequences coding for many hormones and their receptors. Remarkable parallels have been drawn between oncogene products and hormones and their transducing systems, which are important in our understanding of the deregulation that occurs in tumour growth. The central nervous system is now known to be the site of production and target for many hormones, which
have close links with the actions of neurotransmitters, growth factors and immunopeptides. In addition to cyclic AMP, many new second messengers have been discovered. These and other advances in our knowledge meant that the treatment and understanding of endocrine and endocrine-related disorders, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and mental disorders, are under continual modification. Hormones: From Molecules to Disease is therefore a welcome addition to the literature. This is a tremendous book, both in size (nearly 700 pages) and content. It has plenty of detail on all the hormones and their actions and describes each one in terms of chemistry, biochemistry, physiology and clinical disease. It is set out in a modern, largepage format and is easy to read, with lots of good diagrams. The references, which are reasonably up to date (to 1987) are given on each page of the text, with more general references at the end of each chapter. The first chapter (170 pages, written by Prof. Baulieu) is a 'tour de force' of the endocrine system, dealing
with very fundamental molecular biology through to evolutionary endocrinology. Thus the foundations are laid for the student to understand the rest of the book. There are 13 other chapters, which are written by well.known authorities in endocrinology. An unusual additional feature are the 18 short essays on specialized subjects; for example on growth factors, the immune system, in vitro fertilization and lipoprotein receptors. This book will be useful to workers in all disciplines interested in endocrinology. It will be valuable to science and medical undergraduates, postgraduate students and lecturers who wish to give a comprehensive view of endocrinology. This is a fast moving field, so hopefully the book will be frequently updated. The authors are to be congratulated on producing this longawaited authoritative text.
BRIAN A. COOKE Department of Biochemistry, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2PF, UK.
353
SEPTEMBER 1 9 9 1
Bibphys. Mol. Biol. 44, 97-179 We have also characterized at atomic 8 Barlow, D. J. and Thornton, J. M. (1988) J. MoL resolution a 3~0-helix subtype, the Biol. 201, 601-619 IS-bend ribbon zS, by solving the X-ray 9 Robbins, A. H, and Stout, C. D. (1989) Prot. Struct. Funct. Genet. 5, 289-312 diffraction structures of the sequential peptides pBrBz-(Aib-Pro),-Aib-OMe with 10 Pathak, D. and Ollis, D. (1990) J. MoL BioL 214, 497-525 n = 3,4 (C. Tonioli and E. Benedetti, 11 Alber, T. et aL (1988) Science 239, 631-635 unpublished). In this approximate 320- 12 Dijkstra, B. W. et aL (1983) J. Mol. Biol. 168, 163-179 helix, due to the nature of the con13 Marshall, G. (1971) in Intra-Science Chemistry stituent amino acids, an alternating Report Vol. 5 (Kharasch, N., ed.), pp. 305-316, presence/absence of the intramolecular Gordon and Breach C=O...H-N hydrogen bond is observed 14 Toniolo, C. and Benedetti, E. (1988) ISl Atlas Sci. Biochem. 1, 225-230 (Fig. 4). This novel polypeptide confor15 Bavoso, A. et aL (1986) Prec. Natl Acad. SCi. mation may be of relevance in developUSA83,1988-1992 ing structural models for peptaibol 16 Bavoso, A. et al. (1988) J. Biomol. Struct. Dyn. 5, 803-817 antibiotics and for the numerous (XPro), (with X ;~ Pro) segments found in 17 Pavone, V. et al. (1990) J. Biomol. Struct. Dyn. 7,1321-1331 proteins 29.30. 18 Pavone, V. et al. (1990) J. MoL BioL 214,
References 1 Taylor, H. S. (1941) Proc. Am. Phil. SCc.85,1-7 2 Huggins, M. L. (1943) Chem. Rev. 32,195-218 3 Bragg, L., Kendrew, J. C. and Perutz, M. F. (1950) Proc. R. Soc. London A203, 321-357 4 Donohue, J. (1953) Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 39, 470-478 5 Ramachandran, G. N., Venkatachalam, C. M. and Krimm, S. (1966) Biophys. J. 6, 849-872 6 Toniolo, C. (1980) CRC Crit. Rev. Biochem. 9, 1-44 7 Baker, E. N. and Hubbard, R. E. (1984) Prog.
24 Benedetti, E. et aL (1982) ;~:oc. Natl Acad. SCL USA 79, 7951-7954 25 Fox, R. 0., Jr and Richards, F. M. (1982) Nature 300, 325-330 26 Le Bars, M., Bachet, B. and Moman, J. P. (1988) Zeit. Kristallogr. 185, 588 27 Valle, G. et aL (1989) J. Am. Chem. SCc. 111, 6828-6833 28 Karle, I. L., Rippen-Anderson,J., Sukumar, M. and Balaram, P. (1987) Proc. NatlAcad. SCi. USA 84, 5087-5091 29 Abillon, E., Bremier, L. and Cardinaud, R. (1990) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1037, 394-400 30 Quax-Jeuken,¥. et aL (1984) J. MoL Biol. 180, 457-472
TIB$
633-635 19 Shamala, N., Nagaraj, R. and Balaram, P. (1978) .I. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun.996-997 20 Kokkinidis, M., Gessmann, R., Vlassi, M. and Br~ckner, H. (1990) Acta Crystallogr. A46 suppl., C.140, PS,04.01.15 21 Souhassou, M., Smith, G. D., Leplawy, M. T. and Marshall, G. R. (1990) Acta Crystallogr. A46 suppl., C-140/C-141, PS/)4.01.16 22 Marshall, G. R. et aL (1990) Proc. Natl Acad. SCi. USA87, 487-491 23 Okuyama, K., Tanaka, N., Doi, M. and Narita, M. (1988) Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn 61, 3115-3120
an enjoyable way o f 'keeping
in touch with
all that's new in biochemistry.
BOOKREVIEWS Expoundingendocrinology Hormones:FromMoleculesto Disease edited by E.E. Baulleu and P. A. Kelly, Chapman and Hall, 1990. £ 4 5 . 0 0 / $ 6 2 . 5 0 (ii + 6 9 7 pages) ISBN 0 4 1 2 02791 7
In the past decade the advances made in endocrinology have been enormous. They include the discovery of new hormones, new locations of their production and their mechanisms of action. Advances in molecular biology and immunology techniques have allowed the elucidation of the gene sequences coding for many hormones and their receptors. Remarkable parallels have been drawn between oncogene products and hormones and their transducing systems, which are important in our understanding of the deregulation that occurs in tumour growth. The central nervous system is now known to be the site of production and target for many hormones, which
have close links with the actions of neurotransmitters, growth factors and immunopeptides. In addition to cyclic AMP, many new second messengers have been discovered. These and other advances in our knowledge meant that the treatment and understanding of endocrine and endocrine-related disorders, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and mental disorders, are under continual modification. Hormones: From Molecules to Disease is therefore a welcome addition to the literature. This is a tremendous book, both in size (nearly 700 pages) and content. It has plenty of detail on all the hormones and their actions and describes each one in terms of chemistry, biochemistry, physiology and clinical disease. It is set out in a modern, largepage format and is easy to read, with lots of good diagrams. The references, which are reasonably up to date (to 1987) are given on each page of the text, with more general references at the end of each chapter. The first chapter (170 pages, written by Prof. Baulieu) is a 'tour de force' of the endocrine system, dealing
with very fundamental molecular biology through to evolutionary endocrinology. Thus the foundations are laid for the student to understand the rest of the book. There are 13 other chapters, which are written by well.known authorities in endocrinology. An unusual additional feature are the 18 short essays on specialized subjects; for example on growth factors, the immune system, in vitro fertilization and lipoprotein receptors. This book will be useful to workers in all disciplines interested in endocrinology. It will be valuable to science and medical undergraduates, postgraduate students and lecturers who wish to give a comprehensive view of endocrinology. This is a fast moving field, so hopefully the book will be frequently updated. The authors are to be congratulated on producing this longawaited authoritative text.
BRIAN A. COOKE Department of Biochemistry, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2PF, UK.
353