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Handbook of Physiology, Section 7, The Endocrine System, Volume III, Endocrine Regulation of Water and Electrolyte Balance. Edited by John C. S. Fray
General and Comparative Endocrinology 119, 239 –240 (2000) All articles available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on
BOOK REVIEWS Gene Engineering in Endocrinology. Edited by Margaret A. Shupnik. Humana Press, Totowa, New Jersey, 2000. 433 pages, including index. $135.00.
acronyms, the editor could have made the contents of the book more communicative than it is. doi:10.1006/gcen.2000.7516
This book provides an excellent overview of the current status of what we must call molecular endocrinology. It is primarily concerned with the structures of peptide hormonal molecules and their often multiple receptors, with the intracellular phenomena that follow hormonal interaction with the receptors, including stimulation vs repression of transcriptive changes by the genome. The 19 chapters divide roughly into two groups, one section on the hormonal phenomena involved in growth, development, and metabolism, and the other section dealing with phenomena involved in reproduction. The first chapter in the first section is “Differential Cell Signaling and Gene Activation by the Human Growth Hormone Receptor” and is well worth reading alone as an example of what is going on today in the field of molecular endocrinology. A few years ago it would not have been expected that growth hormone receptors are widespread in adult tissues, that there are numerous molecular isoforms of both the growth hormones and their receptors, and that the nonpituitary growth hormones operate through a family of structurally related receptors. Another interesting chapter in the first section is “Pit-1 Expression, Regulation, and Modulation of Multiple Pituitary Genes.” Pit-1 is a recently characterized protein that has a homeodomain in its molecule and, like the related hox gene products, regulates the regional activation of other developmental gene systems. The reproductive section of the book contains a chapter on gene knockout mice, their production, and use in providing models of reproductive differentiation. One problem that Shupnik’s book presents to the unprepared reader is the use of numerous acronyms, quite often with the unjustified assumption that they are familiar to readers. By supplying a glossary of 0016-6480/00 $35.00 Copyright © 2000 by Academic Press All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.
Handbook of Physiology, Section 7, The Endocrine System, Volume III, Endocrine Regulation of Water and Electrolyte Balance. Edited by John C. S. Fray, for the American Physiological Society. Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 2000. 737 pages, including index. $225. This large, authoritative book contains 18 chapters organized under three general headings: (1) Regulatory Molecules of Sodium and Potassium Balance, (2) Hormones Regulating Electrolyte and Water Balance, and (3) Endocrine Regulation of Calcium and Phosphate Balance. The first section has eight chapters devoted to renin, angiotensin, angiotensin-converting enzyme, and aldosterone. The second section, in seven chapters, deals with the Kallikrein–Kinin system, natriuretic peptides, antidiuretic hormone (ADH), and vasopressin. The third section, in three chapters, deals with parathyroid hormones and vitamin D. Though not identified in a heading, calcitonin is considered briefly in the third section. The molecular features of each hormone, and often its receptors, are thoroughly reviewed in the appropriate sections. The genes for the hormones are characterized, as well as the synthetic details and control of synthesis. doi:10.1006/gcen.2000.7517
The Melanocortin Receptors. Edited by Roger D. Cone. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, 2000. 551 pp., including index. $145. The proopiomelanocortin (POMC) molecule, and the phenomena associated with it, makes a fascinating story. The molecule is cleaved into a number of 239
BOOK REVIEWS Gene Engineering in Endocrinology. Edited by Margaret A. Shupnik. Humana Press, Totowa, New Jersey, 2000. 433 pages, including index. $135.00.
acronyms, the editor could have made the contents of the book more communicative than it is. doi:10.1006/gcen.2000.7516
This book provides an excellent overview of the current status of what we must call molecular endocrinology. It is primarily concerned with the structures of peptide hormonal molecules and their often multiple receptors, with the intracellular phenomena that follow hormonal interaction with the receptors, including stimulation vs repression of transcriptive changes by the genome. The 19 chapters divide roughly into two groups, one section on the hormonal phenomena involved in growth, development, and metabolism, and the other section dealing with phenomena involved in reproduction. The first chapter in the first section is “Differential Cell Signaling and Gene Activation by the Human Growth Hormone Receptor” and is well worth reading alone as an example of what is going on today in the field of molecular endocrinology. A few years ago it would not have been expected that growth hormone receptors are widespread in adult tissues, that there are numerous molecular isoforms of both the growth hormones and their receptors, and that the nonpituitary growth hormones operate through a family of structurally related receptors. Another interesting chapter in the first section is “Pit-1 Expression, Regulation, and Modulation of Multiple Pituitary Genes.” Pit-1 is a recently characterized protein that has a homeodomain in its molecule and, like the related hox gene products, regulates the regional activation of other developmental gene systems. The reproductive section of the book contains a chapter on gene knockout mice, their production, and use in providing models of reproductive differentiation. One problem that Shupnik’s book presents to the unprepared reader is the use of numerous acronyms, quite often with the unjustified assumption that they are familiar to readers. By supplying a glossary of 0016-6480/00 $35.00 Copyright © 2000 by Academic Press All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.
Handbook of Physiology, Section 7, The Endocrine System, Volume III, Endocrine Regulation of Water and Electrolyte Balance. Edited by John C. S. Fray, for the American Physiological Society. Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 2000. 737 pages, including index. $225. This large, authoritative book contains 18 chapters organized under three general headings: (1) Regulatory Molecules of Sodium and Potassium Balance, (2) Hormones Regulating Electrolyte and Water Balance, and (3) Endocrine Regulation of Calcium and Phosphate Balance. The first section has eight chapters devoted to renin, angiotensin, angiotensin-converting enzyme, and aldosterone. The second section, in seven chapters, deals with the Kallikrein–Kinin system, natriuretic peptides, antidiuretic hormone (ADH), and vasopressin. The third section, in three chapters, deals with parathyroid hormones and vitamin D. Though not identified in a heading, calcitonin is considered briefly in the third section. The molecular features of each hormone, and often its receptors, are thoroughly reviewed in the appropriate sections. The genes for the hormones are characterized, as well as the synthetic details and control of synthesis. doi:10.1006/gcen.2000.7517
The Melanocortin Receptors. Edited by Roger D. Cone. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, 2000. 551 pp., including index. $145. The proopiomelanocortin (POMC) molecule, and the phenomena associated with it, makes a fascinating story. The molecule is cleaved into a number of 239