- Email: [email protected]
Inducible gene expression vol. 1: Environmental stresses and nutrients; and vol. 2: Hormonal signals
BOOKREVIEWS 13 Katsoyanis,R G. (1964) Diabetes13, 339-348 14 Niu,C. I. et al. (1964) Sci. Sin. 13, 1343-1345 15 Niu,C. !. et aL (1966) Sci. Sin. 15, 231-244
Variations without a theme Blondes in Venetian Paintings,the Nine-banded Armadillo, and Other Essays in Biochemistry by K. Bloch, Yale University Press, 1995. £ I 7.95 (xiii + 261 pages) ISBN 0 300 05881 0
/~ ;:~ok that promises to bring together such disparate topics as blondes, Venetian paintings and nine-banded armadillos starts at an advantage compared with other books. I came to it with a keen sense of anticipation, especially as the earlier chapters included two with interesting titles 'Blondes in Venetian Renaissance Paintings' and 'The Imlmrtance of Being Contaminated'. Good early chapters are a boon to me when I review a book. By about one-third of the way into a book, i have usually found the thew.e of the review and the rest of the book provides materials to amplify that theme. But with Blondes.... I found myself getting increasinglyworried as | completed chapter after chapter with nothing providing the foundation for a review. Then, to my disappointment, ! realized that Konrad Bioch's book simply does not live up to the promise o| its title. Writing essays is clearly a difficultjob. Essays are short and the writing, as well as the topic, must engage the reader quickly. Stephen J. Gould's method, for example, is to open his essays with a subject that appears to bear little relation to the topic of the chapter, and so entice the reader to see how he comes around to that topic. Because essays are short, there is little leeway for a writer to make up for a dull patch that might fade into insignificancein book-length writing, it helps, although It is not essential, for there to be a strong common theme to the chapters. While T. H. Huxley's essays have relationships in the natural world biological and geological - as their theme, those of another master essayist, J. B. S. Haldane, are much more eclectic. Notwithstanding his suggestion that the chemical basis of biological phenomena is the theme of his collection, Bloch's book is closer to the Haldane model. The chapters fall into two groups; subjects of the first group follow Bloch's
292
TIBS 20 - JULY 1 9 9 5
16 Collectivework(1966) KexueTongbao(Science Bulletin), 17, 241-277 17 Chance,R. E. et aL (1981) Proceedingsof the 7th AmericanPeptideSymposium,721-728 18 Wang,C. C. and Tsou,C. L. (1991) Trends Biochem.Sci. 16, 279-281
¢HEN=LU T$@U 15 Datun Road, NationaJ Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Academia Sinica, Beijing 100101t, China.
theme, while those of the second group four topics are 'synthesis of olefinic are a miscellanyof topics based on acids', 'albinism', 'nicotinic acid' and incidents or episodes drawn from his 'oxygen and collagen synthesis', career. By and large, I found that this and their diversity, which should attract second group worked better, including the reader, confused this one. To be fair, the two that contribute their titles to the this may be a reflection of my interests, title of the book. The first essay was grounded in molecular genetics, and inspired by Bloch's observation that there others with an interest in the is a rather large number of blondes in biochemistry of small molecules may find Venetian paintings. Some literature Bloch's treatment of these topics research revealed the existence of 'aqua fascinating. bionda', tinctures for transforming In the preface, Bloch writes that the brunettes into blondes. Turning then to book is not an autobiography but rather a recipes recorded in the mid-19th century, series of essays '...drawn on material Bloch describes the possible mechanisms tucked away in my mind...Not until I by which extracts of plant tissues could faced finding a substitute for produce hydrogen peroxide. 'The experimental research did I retrieve these importance of Being Contaminated' is reminiscences'. The problem is, I ara another of the miscellaneous group. Here, afraid, that many of the chapters read as Bloch recounts a number of discoveries in though these reminiscences were biochemistry that came about because of retrieved and put together without being anomalous results caused by reagents developed. I began each chapter with that varied in quality. This variation high expectations but | was not drawn suggested that there was present in the into these stories. reagents some contah~inating material, JAN Ao WJTKOWSKI and the isolation of that material provided new insights. ATP seems to have The BanburyCenter,ColdSpringHarborLaboratory, been peculiarly cursed (or perhaps POBox 534, ColdSpringHarbor,NY11743-0534, blessed) by such contaminants, including USA. vanadium, and this led to the realization that this ion affects various physiological processes. But I reached the end o[ this chapter feeling left adrift. Instead of drawing a conclusion about the role of contamination in biochemical discoveries, Bloch finishes the chapter by describing how an inhibitor discovered in inducible Gene Expression Vol. 1: this serendipitous way in his laboratory Environmental Stresses and has promise in future developments of Nutrients; and Voi. 2: Hormonal anti-trypanosome drugs. I wanted to know whether Bloch thinks that these Signals discoveries will decrease with the increasing reliance on commercially edited by P, A. ~uerle, 1995. £98.00 supplied reagents. Are they peculiar to (xiii + 284 pages/xii + 284 pages) biochemistry or have they occurred in, ISBN 3 7643 3800 8 say, cell biology? Do they depend on having a pretty deep knowledge of the reactions being studied so that the The regulation of gene expression anomalies can be recognized as more represents one of the pivotal control than that? points in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic I am afraid that the chapters in the first cells. Many genes lie dormant unless category, those explaining the chemical specifically required, in prokaryotes, basis of biological phenomena, suffer gene e.x~)ression is modulated as an from the style of their writing. Take the adaptational reslmnse to a changing chapter on 'Oxygen and Evolution'. The environment, and this is also true to some theme is clear- what was the impact of d e ~ in eukaryotes. However, in higher an oxygen-rich atmosphere on eukaryotes, many cells alter their biochemical processes? - and the patterns of [[erie expression in response approach obvious -describe the roles of to signals that have been generated by oxygen in the metabolism of various neighbouring or more distantly located molecules. But Bloch does this under 13 cells. The importance of maintaining subheadings in 26 pages of text. The first correctly regulated gene expression is
Turning on genes
BOOKREVIEWS
T6BS 2 0 - JULY 1 9 9 5
demonstrated by the fact that aberrant contro~ over gene regulation in humans can lead to a variety of disorders, including developmental abnormalities and cancer. Currently,the control of gene expression is one o~ the most intensively studied and exciting areas o~ molecular biology. Groups around the world are studying the regulation of a multitude of genes in organisms :anging from bacteria to humans, which ensures a constant vast supply of information on this topic. This book aims to review several aspects of inducible gene expression in response to a diverse set of agents. As such, it helps to focus our attention on some of the important principles emerging from this information flow. Inducibte Gene Expression is divided into two volumes: the first deals with the induction of gene expression in response to 'externaF environmental cues; the second concentrates mainly on responses to 'internallyderived' hormonal inducers of gene regulation.Each chapter is devoted to a particular environmental or hormonal stimulus. The environmental stimuli covered in Vol. I are allc o m m o n stresses that a ceR might experience: heat, U V light,reactive oxygen species, heavy metals and xenobiotics. The effect of these stimuli on the activity of transcription factors is outlined in each chapter. Notable examples include the intensively studied Jun (UV and TPA responsive) and NF-KB (pathogen and stress responsive) transcription factor families. However, somewhat lesser known transcription factors, such as the dioxin receptor and the peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor, are also reviewed. In addition, post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression in response to iron availability is covered to complement the various mechanisms of transcriptional induction. In Vol. 2, transacting transcription factors and cis-acting enhancer elements are introduced and their relationships to either direct hormonal stimulation or the resulting sitmal transduction pathways are discussed. Topics range from
chapters on the nuclear hormone receptors (g~ucocorticoid,thyroid and retinoic acid) to responses to serum growth factors CoY the serum response element), cyclic AMP (via the CREM transcription factor) and to c3~oMne induction (via STAT~. The role of transcription factors in stimunating gene expression during development is also discussed with respect to the Drosophila NF-~B-related transcription factor Dorsal. In general, the book focuses on how specific transcription factors respond to different stimuli in mammalian systems. However, the role of transcription factors in Drosophila development is discussed in one chapter, and a comparative overview on prokaryotic and eukaryotic transcriptional control is included. Other chapters include snippets of information about yeast and bacterial transcription factors; and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression is alluded to in one chapter. Several general themes emerge in this book, including the roles of transcription factors and short nucleotide sequences as key players in transducing extracellular signals into specific genetic responses. Volume 2 is particularly good in this respect: the novice is presented with a series of reviews linidng signal transduction pathways to individual transcription factors. The format of individual chapters varies, as does the depth and scope of knowledge contained within them. In most cases, the topics covered represent a strong bias towards the research interests of the author(s) of each chapter. However, each chapter represents a self-contained, comprehensive review of the subject area. Excellent bibliographies are presented that include references dated up to 1994, thus ensuring that the information content is not seriously outdated. The degree and type of illustration within chapters varies considerably: some chapters are illustrated with experimental data; some contain judiciously chosen diagrams to illustrate underlying principles; and others lack extensive
illustration, maldng reading more d~ficult ~or the non-expert. The~'e is a~o a lack of summary tables for the seemingly endless supply of acronyms. However, the book contains an excei|ent ~ndex, which enables the reader to select specific topics from within the various chapters. Overall, the two volumes provide a wide variety of t o # c s that will acquaint the non-expert with the main areas of interest in the field of inducible gene expression. The main strength of the book is that each review is self contained and extremely comprehensive. But this is a~o its mMn weakness in that the basic knGwledge assumed is quite high, and there is a lack of a general over~ew to guide the reader through some of the general themes in the book. The editor invites us to compare and contrast different systems; this is possible, but requires the reader to do a lot of the comparative work. For these reasons, the book will be of considerable interest to those already working on inducible gene expression as it provides an up-to.date, comprehensive series of reviews on specifk aspects of the field. It should "also be of interest to those on the periphery of the subject who wish to gain knowledge about how cells alter the regulation of their genes in response to different environmental cues]hormonal stimuli. Experienced scientists, postdoctoral workers and PhD students should therefore find this book to be of interest. In particular, Vol. 2 is highly recommended for people who are already au fair with the field. However, it is unlikely to be generally useful as an undergraduate reference text - except perhaps for in-depth library studies or extended essays - owin~ to the advanced knowledge assumed in maw of the chapters. PAgE SRORE AND ANDRL~ D, SNARROCRS
Department of Biochemistryand Genetics, The Medical School,The University, Newcastle UponTyne, UK NE2 4HH.
Books Re©eived S. Abroad (ed.) Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Defenses #~ Biology, Chapman & Hall, 1995. £69.00 (xxi + 457 pages) ISBN 0 412 03971 0
$. E. Bishop, J. T. Roeves and G. J. Lament (eds) Pulmonary VascularRemodelling, Portland Press, 1995. £80.00/$128.00 (x + 278 pages) ISBN 1 85578 041 0
A. M. Griffin and H. G. Geiffin (eds) Molecular Biology: Current InnovaUons and Future Trends Part 1, Horizon Scientific Press, 1995. £19.99/ $39.99 (165 pages) ISBN 1 898486 01 8
D. R. Apps and K. F. Tipton (eds) Essays in Biochemistry VoL 29, Portland Press, 1995. £17.50/$30.00 (xiv + 215 pages) ISBN 1 85578 017 8
S. R. Ca#an, L R. MIHer and G. MHazzo (eds)
D. L. Puri©h (ed.) Enzyme Kinetics and Mechanism Part D: Developments in Enzyme Dynamics (Metiaods in En~/mology Vol. 249), Academic Press, 1995. $89.00 (xxv + 662 pages) ISBN 0 12 182150 1
D. Ammtrong (ed.) Free Radicals in Diagnostic Medicine (Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology VoL 366), Plenum, 1994. $138.00 (xvi + 464 pages) !SBN 0 306 44981 1
Bioelectrochemistry: General Introduction (Bioelectrochemistry: Principles and Practice VoL 1), Birkh~user, 1995. £94.00/$148o00 (viii + 368 pages) ISBN 3 7643 2687 5 B. ¢ Golding, R. J. Gdffin and H. Masidl| (eds)
Organic ReactMly: Physicaland Biological Aspects, Royal Society of Chemistry, 1995. £69.50 (xv + 453 pages) ISBN 0 85404 710 7
S. ¢. Seaffon (ed.) Receptor Molecular Biology (Methods in Neurosciences VoL 25), Academic Press, 1995. $99.00 (xvi + 519 pages) ISBN 0 12 185295 4
293
Variations without a theme Blondes in Venetian Paintings,the Nine-banded Armadillo, and Other Essays in Biochemistry by K. Bloch, Yale University Press, 1995. £ I 7.95 (xiii + 261 pages) ISBN 0 300 05881 0
/~ ;:~ok that promises to bring together such disparate topics as blondes, Venetian paintings and nine-banded armadillos starts at an advantage compared with other books. I came to it with a keen sense of anticipation, especially as the earlier chapters included two with interesting titles 'Blondes in Venetian Renaissance Paintings' and 'The Imlmrtance of Being Contaminated'. Good early chapters are a boon to me when I review a book. By about one-third of the way into a book, i have usually found the thew.e of the review and the rest of the book provides materials to amplify that theme. But with Blondes.... I found myself getting increasinglyworried as | completed chapter after chapter with nothing providing the foundation for a review. Then, to my disappointment, ! realized that Konrad Bioch's book simply does not live up to the promise o| its title. Writing essays is clearly a difficultjob. Essays are short and the writing, as well as the topic, must engage the reader quickly. Stephen J. Gould's method, for example, is to open his essays with a subject that appears to bear little relation to the topic of the chapter, and so entice the reader to see how he comes around to that topic. Because essays are short, there is little leeway for a writer to make up for a dull patch that might fade into insignificancein book-length writing, it helps, although It is not essential, for there to be a strong common theme to the chapters. While T. H. Huxley's essays have relationships in the natural world biological and geological - as their theme, those of another master essayist, J. B. S. Haldane, are much more eclectic. Notwithstanding his suggestion that the chemical basis of biological phenomena is the theme of his collection, Bloch's book is closer to the Haldane model. The chapters fall into two groups; subjects of the first group follow Bloch's
292
TIBS 20 - JULY 1 9 9 5
16 Collectivework(1966) KexueTongbao(Science Bulletin), 17, 241-277 17 Chance,R. E. et aL (1981) Proceedingsof the 7th AmericanPeptideSymposium,721-728 18 Wang,C. C. and Tsou,C. L. (1991) Trends Biochem.Sci. 16, 279-281
¢HEN=LU T$@U 15 Datun Road, NationaJ Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Academia Sinica, Beijing 100101t, China.
theme, while those of the second group four topics are 'synthesis of olefinic are a miscellanyof topics based on acids', 'albinism', 'nicotinic acid' and incidents or episodes drawn from his 'oxygen and collagen synthesis', career. By and large, I found that this and their diversity, which should attract second group worked better, including the reader, confused this one. To be fair, the two that contribute their titles to the this may be a reflection of my interests, title of the book. The first essay was grounded in molecular genetics, and inspired by Bloch's observation that there others with an interest in the is a rather large number of blondes in biochemistry of small molecules may find Venetian paintings. Some literature Bloch's treatment of these topics research revealed the existence of 'aqua fascinating. bionda', tinctures for transforming In the preface, Bloch writes that the brunettes into blondes. Turning then to book is not an autobiography but rather a recipes recorded in the mid-19th century, series of essays '...drawn on material Bloch describes the possible mechanisms tucked away in my mind...Not until I by which extracts of plant tissues could faced finding a substitute for produce hydrogen peroxide. 'The experimental research did I retrieve these importance of Being Contaminated' is reminiscences'. The problem is, I ara another of the miscellaneous group. Here, afraid, that many of the chapters read as Bloch recounts a number of discoveries in though these reminiscences were biochemistry that came about because of retrieved and put together without being anomalous results caused by reagents developed. I began each chapter with that varied in quality. This variation high expectations but | was not drawn suggested that there was present in the into these stories. reagents some contah~inating material, JAN Ao WJTKOWSKI and the isolation of that material provided new insights. ATP seems to have The BanburyCenter,ColdSpringHarborLaboratory, been peculiarly cursed (or perhaps POBox 534, ColdSpringHarbor,NY11743-0534, blessed) by such contaminants, including USA. vanadium, and this led to the realization that this ion affects various physiological processes. But I reached the end o[ this chapter feeling left adrift. Instead of drawing a conclusion about the role of contamination in biochemical discoveries, Bloch finishes the chapter by describing how an inhibitor discovered in inducible Gene Expression Vol. 1: this serendipitous way in his laboratory Environmental Stresses and has promise in future developments of Nutrients; and Voi. 2: Hormonal anti-trypanosome drugs. I wanted to know whether Bloch thinks that these Signals discoveries will decrease with the increasing reliance on commercially edited by P, A. ~uerle, 1995. £98.00 supplied reagents. Are they peculiar to (xiii + 284 pages/xii + 284 pages) biochemistry or have they occurred in, ISBN 3 7643 3800 8 say, cell biology? Do they depend on having a pretty deep knowledge of the reactions being studied so that the The regulation of gene expression anomalies can be recognized as more represents one of the pivotal control than that? points in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic I am afraid that the chapters in the first cells. Many genes lie dormant unless category, those explaining the chemical specifically required, in prokaryotes, basis of biological phenomena, suffer gene e.x~)ression is modulated as an from the style of their writing. Take the adaptational reslmnse to a changing chapter on 'Oxygen and Evolution'. The environment, and this is also true to some theme is clear- what was the impact of d e ~ in eukaryotes. However, in higher an oxygen-rich atmosphere on eukaryotes, many cells alter their biochemical processes? - and the patterns of [[erie expression in response approach obvious -describe the roles of to signals that have been generated by oxygen in the metabolism of various neighbouring or more distantly located molecules. But Bloch does this under 13 cells. The importance of maintaining subheadings in 26 pages of text. The first correctly regulated gene expression is
Turning on genes
BOOKREVIEWS
T6BS 2 0 - JULY 1 9 9 5
demonstrated by the fact that aberrant contro~ over gene regulation in humans can lead to a variety of disorders, including developmental abnormalities and cancer. Currently,the control of gene expression is one o~ the most intensively studied and exciting areas o~ molecular biology. Groups around the world are studying the regulation of a multitude of genes in organisms :anging from bacteria to humans, which ensures a constant vast supply of information on this topic. This book aims to review several aspects of inducible gene expression in response to a diverse set of agents. As such, it helps to focus our attention on some of the important principles emerging from this information flow. Inducibte Gene Expression is divided into two volumes: the first deals with the induction of gene expression in response to 'externaF environmental cues; the second concentrates mainly on responses to 'internallyderived' hormonal inducers of gene regulation.Each chapter is devoted to a particular environmental or hormonal stimulus. The environmental stimuli covered in Vol. I are allc o m m o n stresses that a ceR might experience: heat, U V light,reactive oxygen species, heavy metals and xenobiotics. The effect of these stimuli on the activity of transcription factors is outlined in each chapter. Notable examples include the intensively studied Jun (UV and TPA responsive) and NF-KB (pathogen and stress responsive) transcription factor families. However, somewhat lesser known transcription factors, such as the dioxin receptor and the peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor, are also reviewed. In addition, post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression in response to iron availability is covered to complement the various mechanisms of transcriptional induction. In Vol. 2, transacting transcription factors and cis-acting enhancer elements are introduced and their relationships to either direct hormonal stimulation or the resulting sitmal transduction pathways are discussed. Topics range from
chapters on the nuclear hormone receptors (g~ucocorticoid,thyroid and retinoic acid) to responses to serum growth factors CoY the serum response element), cyclic AMP (via the CREM transcription factor) and to c3~oMne induction (via STAT~. The role of transcription factors in stimunating gene expression during development is also discussed with respect to the Drosophila NF-~B-related transcription factor Dorsal. In general, the book focuses on how specific transcription factors respond to different stimuli in mammalian systems. However, the role of transcription factors in Drosophila development is discussed in one chapter, and a comparative overview on prokaryotic and eukaryotic transcriptional control is included. Other chapters include snippets of information about yeast and bacterial transcription factors; and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression is alluded to in one chapter. Several general themes emerge in this book, including the roles of transcription factors and short nucleotide sequences as key players in transducing extracellular signals into specific genetic responses. Volume 2 is particularly good in this respect: the novice is presented with a series of reviews linidng signal transduction pathways to individual transcription factors. The format of individual chapters varies, as does the depth and scope of knowledge contained within them. In most cases, the topics covered represent a strong bias towards the research interests of the author(s) of each chapter. However, each chapter represents a self-contained, comprehensive review of the subject area. Excellent bibliographies are presented that include references dated up to 1994, thus ensuring that the information content is not seriously outdated. The degree and type of illustration within chapters varies considerably: some chapters are illustrated with experimental data; some contain judiciously chosen diagrams to illustrate underlying principles; and others lack extensive
illustration, maldng reading more d~ficult ~or the non-expert. The~'e is a~o a lack of summary tables for the seemingly endless supply of acronyms. However, the book contains an excei|ent ~ndex, which enables the reader to select specific topics from within the various chapters. Overall, the two volumes provide a wide variety of t o # c s that will acquaint the non-expert with the main areas of interest in the field of inducible gene expression. The main strength of the book is that each review is self contained and extremely comprehensive. But this is a~o its mMn weakness in that the basic knGwledge assumed is quite high, and there is a lack of a general over~ew to guide the reader through some of the general themes in the book. The editor invites us to compare and contrast different systems; this is possible, but requires the reader to do a lot of the comparative work. For these reasons, the book will be of considerable interest to those already working on inducible gene expression as it provides an up-to.date, comprehensive series of reviews on specifk aspects of the field. It should "also be of interest to those on the periphery of the subject who wish to gain knowledge about how cells alter the regulation of their genes in response to different environmental cues]hormonal stimuli. Experienced scientists, postdoctoral workers and PhD students should therefore find this book to be of interest. In particular, Vol. 2 is highly recommended for people who are already au fair with the field. However, it is unlikely to be generally useful as an undergraduate reference text - except perhaps for in-depth library studies or extended essays - owin~ to the advanced knowledge assumed in maw of the chapters. PAgE SRORE AND ANDRL~ D, SNARROCRS
Department of Biochemistryand Genetics, The Medical School,The University, Newcastle UponTyne, UK NE2 4HH.
Books Re©eived S. Abroad (ed.) Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Defenses #~ Biology, Chapman & Hall, 1995. £69.00 (xxi + 457 pages) ISBN 0 412 03971 0
$. E. Bishop, J. T. Roeves and G. J. Lament (eds) Pulmonary VascularRemodelling, Portland Press, 1995. £80.00/$128.00 (x + 278 pages) ISBN 1 85578 041 0
A. M. Griffin and H. G. Geiffin (eds) Molecular Biology: Current InnovaUons and Future Trends Part 1, Horizon Scientific Press, 1995. £19.99/ $39.99 (165 pages) ISBN 1 898486 01 8
D. R. Apps and K. F. Tipton (eds) Essays in Biochemistry VoL 29, Portland Press, 1995. £17.50/$30.00 (xiv + 215 pages) ISBN 1 85578 017 8
S. R. Ca#an, L R. MIHer and G. MHazzo (eds)
D. L. Puri©h (ed.) Enzyme Kinetics and Mechanism Part D: Developments in Enzyme Dynamics (Metiaods in En~/mology Vol. 249), Academic Press, 1995. $89.00 (xxv + 662 pages) ISBN 0 12 182150 1
D. Ammtrong (ed.) Free Radicals in Diagnostic Medicine (Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology VoL 366), Plenum, 1994. $138.00 (xvi + 464 pages) !SBN 0 306 44981 1
Bioelectrochemistry: General Introduction (Bioelectrochemistry: Principles and Practice VoL 1), Birkh~user, 1995. £94.00/$148o00 (viii + 368 pages) ISBN 3 7643 2687 5 B. ¢ Golding, R. J. Gdffin and H. Masidl| (eds)
Organic ReactMly: Physicaland Biological Aspects, Royal Society of Chemistry, 1995. £69.50 (xv + 453 pages) ISBN 0 85404 710 7
S. ¢. Seaffon (ed.) Receptor Molecular Biology (Methods in Neurosciences VoL 25), Academic Press, 1995. $99.00 (xvi + 519 pages) ISBN 0 12 185295 4
293