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Membrane transport and information storage
J. Steroid Btochem. Molec. Biol. Vol. 42, No. 6, pp. 643--648, 1992 Pergamon Press Ltd. Printed in Great Britain
BOOK REVIEWS
Membrane Transport and Information Storage. Advances in Membrane Fluidity, Vol. 4. Edited by R. C. ALOIA, C. C. CUgT^I~ and L. M. GogDos. Published 1990 by Liss, New York. No. of pages: 260. ISBN: 0-471-56209-2. Price 1990: US$137.00. Advances in Membrane Fluidity is a series devoted to an analytical understanding of the structural and functional aspects of molecular motional and architectural properties of biological membranes. Membrane Transport and Information Storage is the fourth volume in the series and is dedicated to an evaluation of the relationship between the transfer of information from the membrane milieu to the biochemical machinery within the cell. The chapters refer, in their broadest sense, to the information contained within the architectural arrangement of the lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins within the membrane per se and the release of this information to the membrane-bound and intracellular enzymes via stimuli from the external environment. As such, each chapter presents a comprehensive review of one facet of this transductive process. These chapters are a natural extension of those in previous volumes, which focused on the presence of heterogeneity within the membrane and the physiological aspects of membrane function, since they review the concepts of membrane architecture and the processing of signals received from the external milieu. The following chapters are included: --Nonlinear electrodynamics in cell membrane transductive coupling*, --The role of phosphoinositides in signal transduction; ---Transductive coupling by methylated transducing proteins and permeases of the phosphotransferase system in bacterial chemotaxis; --Lipid metabolism and energy transduction in cells cultured in serum-free synthetic media; --Membrane architecture and water transport in epithelial cell membranes; --Functional parameters of ATPases from brain subcellular membranes; --Permeability of the lipid domains of bacterial membranes; --Regulation of intestinal calcium transport by Vitamin D [I,25(OH)2D]: role of membrane structure; --Influence of fluidity on membrane permeability: correspondence between studies of membrane models and simple biological systems; --Modulation of the activity of functional membrane proteins by the lipid bilayer fluidity. This volume would be very useful for biophysicists, endocrinologists, biologists, histologists, and molecular biologists, as well as people working on the regulation of water, cations.
Update on Hormonal Treatment in the Menopause. Progress in Reproductive Biology and Medicine, Vol. 13. Edited by M. L'Hv.gMIT~. Published 1989 by Karger, Basel. No. of pages: 118. ISBN: 3-8055-4904-0. Price at April 1990: $65.50. This volume has been designed to provide an updated, comprehensive but short review and synthesis of hormonal treatment during the menopause. Although there is concern to counteract diseases associated with the menopause, hormone replacement therapy continues to stimulate controversy about its formulation, efficacy and possible adverse effects. This book examines the types of hormonal treatment available, their beneficial effects and risks, included in the following chapters: --Overall rationale for hormonal substitution therapy after the menopauses; --Sex steroids and bone; --Sex steroids and the endometrium; --Sex steroids and metabolism; --Sex steroids and the breast; --Mortality from cancer and cardiovascular disease and hormonal substitution therapy; --Percutaneous and transdermal hormonal therapy; --Any indication for androgen therapy? --Nasal calcitonin: an alternative? This book would be very useful for gynecologists, endocrinologists, and people interested in the subject of hormone replacement therapy. I~otedmelogy and Hnm,n Gea~¢ ~ to ~ UCLA Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology, Vol. 126. Edited by C. R. C^wrot, C. T. CgSKL~, L. E. HOOO,D. IC~qL~ and G. S.Om~rlq. Published 1990 by Wiley-Liss, New York. No. of pages: 257. ISBN: 0-471-56772-8. Price 1990: US$75.00. In a somewhat novel, but successful experiment, two UCLA symposia were interwoven at a single location, Steamboat Springs, CO. One was a meeting on Biotechnology that focused on the development of new methods for genome mapping, DNA sequencing, and protein structural analysis. The second was a meeting on Human Genetic Predisposition to Disease that described advances in molecular diagnoses, progress in the search for a number of significant disease genes, steps towards the eventual possibility of gene therapy, and improvements in our understanding of DNA damage and repair. The common themes that helped bind the two meetings together were the continued dramatic advances in DNA technology. These, on the one hand, have allowed the efficient pursuit of individual genes of interest and, on the other hand, have allowed conception and initiation of the first large-scale coordinated biology project, the Human Genome Project, which will ultimately identify all human genes and make them readily accessible for further study. 643
BOOK REVIEWS
Membrane Transport and Information Storage. Advances in Membrane Fluidity, Vol. 4. Edited by R. C. ALOIA, C. C. CUgT^I~ and L. M. GogDos. Published 1990 by Liss, New York. No. of pages: 260. ISBN: 0-471-56209-2. Price 1990: US$137.00. Advances in Membrane Fluidity is a series devoted to an analytical understanding of the structural and functional aspects of molecular motional and architectural properties of biological membranes. Membrane Transport and Information Storage is the fourth volume in the series and is dedicated to an evaluation of the relationship between the transfer of information from the membrane milieu to the biochemical machinery within the cell. The chapters refer, in their broadest sense, to the information contained within the architectural arrangement of the lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins within the membrane per se and the release of this information to the membrane-bound and intracellular enzymes via stimuli from the external environment. As such, each chapter presents a comprehensive review of one facet of this transductive process. These chapters are a natural extension of those in previous volumes, which focused on the presence of heterogeneity within the membrane and the physiological aspects of membrane function, since they review the concepts of membrane architecture and the processing of signals received from the external milieu. The following chapters are included: --Nonlinear electrodynamics in cell membrane transductive coupling*, --The role of phosphoinositides in signal transduction; ---Transductive coupling by methylated transducing proteins and permeases of the phosphotransferase system in bacterial chemotaxis; --Lipid metabolism and energy transduction in cells cultured in serum-free synthetic media; --Membrane architecture and water transport in epithelial cell membranes; --Functional parameters of ATPases from brain subcellular membranes; --Permeability of the lipid domains of bacterial membranes; --Regulation of intestinal calcium transport by Vitamin D [I,25(OH)2D]: role of membrane structure; --Influence of fluidity on membrane permeability: correspondence between studies of membrane models and simple biological systems; --Modulation of the activity of functional membrane proteins by the lipid bilayer fluidity. This volume would be very useful for biophysicists, endocrinologists, biologists, histologists, and molecular biologists, as well as people working on the regulation of water, cations.
Update on Hormonal Treatment in the Menopause. Progress in Reproductive Biology and Medicine, Vol. 13. Edited by M. L'Hv.gMIT~. Published 1989 by Karger, Basel. No. of pages: 118. ISBN: 3-8055-4904-0. Price at April 1990: $65.50. This volume has been designed to provide an updated, comprehensive but short review and synthesis of hormonal treatment during the menopause. Although there is concern to counteract diseases associated with the menopause, hormone replacement therapy continues to stimulate controversy about its formulation, efficacy and possible adverse effects. This book examines the types of hormonal treatment available, their beneficial effects and risks, included in the following chapters: --Overall rationale for hormonal substitution therapy after the menopauses; --Sex steroids and bone; --Sex steroids and the endometrium; --Sex steroids and metabolism; --Sex steroids and the breast; --Mortality from cancer and cardiovascular disease and hormonal substitution therapy; --Percutaneous and transdermal hormonal therapy; --Any indication for androgen therapy? --Nasal calcitonin: an alternative? This book would be very useful for gynecologists, endocrinologists, and people interested in the subject of hormone replacement therapy. I~otedmelogy and Hnm,n Gea~¢ ~ to ~ UCLA Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology, Vol. 126. Edited by C. R. C^wrot, C. T. CgSKL~, L. E. HOOO,D. IC~qL~ and G. S.Om~rlq. Published 1990 by Wiley-Liss, New York. No. of pages: 257. ISBN: 0-471-56772-8. Price 1990: US$75.00. In a somewhat novel, but successful experiment, two UCLA symposia were interwoven at a single location, Steamboat Springs, CO. One was a meeting on Biotechnology that focused on the development of new methods for genome mapping, DNA sequencing, and protein structural analysis. The second was a meeting on Human Genetic Predisposition to Disease that described advances in molecular diagnoses, progress in the search for a number of significant disease genes, steps towards the eventual possibility of gene therapy, and improvements in our understanding of DNA damage and repair. The common themes that helped bind the two meetings together were the continued dramatic advances in DNA technology. These, on the one hand, have allowed the efficient pursuit of individual genes of interest and, on the other hand, have allowed conception and initiation of the first large-scale coordinated biology project, the Human Genome Project, which will ultimately identify all human genes and make them readily accessible for further study. 643