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Molecular pathology of the prions. Edited by Harry F. Baker, published by Humana Press, 2001, 279 p.
352
Book reviews / Biochimie 84 (2002) 349–353
Protein sequencing identifies proteins based on their amino-acid sequence, a fundamental property of any protein. Internal sequencing of proteins is carried out by tandem mass spectrometry. The advantages of this technology include high sensitivity, high-throughput analyses and the ability to characterise post-translational modifications. The rapid expansion of searchable protein and DNA databases, in recent years, caused an explosive growth in the application of mass spectrometry in the protein identification by peptide mass fingerprint or (and) by protein sequencing. This interesting book examines the protein sequencing by mass spectrometry. This book is very impressive by its content and its clarity. It will find its place in every scientific library and in the biological mass spectrometry laboratories. It will be used by researchers that use mass spectrometry and wish to focus on protein sequencing and by newcomers to this field. Abdelkader Namane PII: S 0 3 0 0 - 9 0 8 4 ( 0 2 ) 0 1 3 9 5 - 0
Molecular pathology of the prions. Edited by Harry F. Baker, published by Humana Press, 2001, 279 p. Since the identification of scrapie in British sheep at the beginning of the 18th century, and later of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in man, diseases of this kind, now called “transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE)” have posed a fascinating and formidable problem to scientists. Contrary to the pasteurian dogma, these diseases can appear spontaneously, be sometimes hereditary, but nevertheless be transmitted as infectious diseases. According to Stanley Prusiner, such diseases would be caused by a protein, normally present in all mammals, but which can take a toxic conformation, either spontaneously or upon interacting with another molecule already in the toxic conformation. These infectious proteins have been called “prions”. Because of the occurrence of BSE in British cows and its apparent transmission to people, “prion” has now become a household term. However, even if it is accepted by a large majority of scientists, the prion theory still leaves unanswered a large number of questions. In this new book edited by Harry Baker—he has already published two on the subject—the present status of some of these questions is presented. Published in the series “Methods in Molecular Medicine”, this book contains 14 chapters written by major players in the prion field. It focuses on the molecular pathogenesis of prion disease and on the role of the prion protein, letting aside the epidemiological aspects. It starts by a nice piece of epistemology by Rosalind Rindley, entitled “What would Thomas Henry Huxley have made of prion diseases?”. Among other things, this chapter stresses the occurrence of several “paradigm shifts” in this field, including the fact that the present definition of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease would probably include neither the single case described by Creutzfeldt in 1920 nor three of the five cases later described by Jakob. Some of the questions addressed in the other chapters are the following: What is the function of the prion protein in its normal, non-toxic conformation? What is the basis for the toxicity of the toxic conformation? What is the molecular basis for the differences between the different “strains” of prion? What is it that targets these different strains to different neurons? What is the mechanism of transmission of the disease within the body, especially after infection by the oral route? What is the mechanism of conversion of the protein from its normal to its toxic conformation? There is some heterogeneity in the style of the different chapters. Some, very much in the line of this series of books are mainly methodological. This is the case, for instance, of chapter 5, which describes the different techniques that can be used to differentiate biochemically the different strains of prion. Other chapters, the majority, are more like reviews of a particular question. But, there again, there is heterogeneity. Thus, the two chapters concerning the function of the protein in its normal state are somewhat frustrating because they focus on a single hypothesis. Namely that this protein plays a role in the metabolism of copper, that it “functions primarily as a copper dependent anti-oxidant protein”. One is left with the notion that this is the only plausible hypothesis, when, in fact, several others have been proposed. Conversely, the chapters on the use transgenic animals and of neurografts provide beautiful state-of-the-art accounts of the “domino-stone-like manner” in which the conformation change in the protein seems to be transmitted from the intestine to the brain, via the lymphoreticular system and the peripheral nervous system. The last chapter deals with prions of yeast. The authors summarize the evidence that two well-known examples of extra-chromosomal heredity can be explained by the existence of infectious proteins bearing very much similarity with mammalian prions. They argue, rather convincingly, that the study of these systems may be of great use for the understanding, and perhaps the cure, of prion diseases.
Book reviews / Biochimie 84 (2002) 349–353
353
In spite of its heterogeneity, this book provides a wealth of information on the facts and ideas presently discussed in the prion field. As such, it would make excellent reading for scientists and students who wish to keep abreast of this fascinating and rapidly growing field. Maxime Schwartz PII: S 0 3 0 0 - 9 0 8 4 ( 0 2 ) 0 1 3 9 2 - 5
Proteins: Biochemistry and Biotechnology. Edited by Gary Walsh, published by John Wiley & Sons, 2001, 547 p., price: £ 37.50 The present book is an evolved version of an earlier book, Protein Biotechnology, by Gary Walsh and Denis Headon published in 1994. This version is an overview of the knowledge about proteins and their application. It consists of two parts which could be independent. The first part refers to basic knowledge about protein structure, stability, quantification, purification and characterization. These aspects are well explained, with up-to-date information about all these aspects. This part refers to the biochemistry of proteins. In fact, the lack of information about natural protein synthesis and degradation would merely justify naming it chemistry of proteins. The bibliography of the first part is an up-to-date one, and therefore suffers from a lack of outstanding names such as Avrameas or Engvall and Perlman for immunochemistry, or Righetti and Laemmli for electrophoresis… Nevertheless, the information supplied is very clear and very complete. The second part deals with protein biotechnology. It focuses on the production of proteins and their applications in medicine, analysis and industry. It starts with a very useful chapter about protein sources. It is followed by a chapter about large-scale purification, with an emphasis on the removal of impurities and apyrogenic substances. The rest of this part consists of an impressive number of monographs of proteins, with medical, analytical or industrial applications. Each monograph is extensive and contains detailed data about the structure and chemistry of the protein, its sources, its ways of purification; the problems linked to the purification and the use of the protein are well treated. This book is in fact an “up-to-date” state-of-the-art of protein chemistry and their applications. It is a source of wide, clear and detailed information about proteins and their use in medical, diagnosis or industrial fields. Armand Berneman PII: S 0 3 0 0 - 9 0 8 4 ( 0 2 ) 0 1 3 9 4 - 9
Book reviews / Biochimie 84 (2002) 349–353
Protein sequencing identifies proteins based on their amino-acid sequence, a fundamental property of any protein. Internal sequencing of proteins is carried out by tandem mass spectrometry. The advantages of this technology include high sensitivity, high-throughput analyses and the ability to characterise post-translational modifications. The rapid expansion of searchable protein and DNA databases, in recent years, caused an explosive growth in the application of mass spectrometry in the protein identification by peptide mass fingerprint or (and) by protein sequencing. This interesting book examines the protein sequencing by mass spectrometry. This book is very impressive by its content and its clarity. It will find its place in every scientific library and in the biological mass spectrometry laboratories. It will be used by researchers that use mass spectrometry and wish to focus on protein sequencing and by newcomers to this field. Abdelkader Namane PII: S 0 3 0 0 - 9 0 8 4 ( 0 2 ) 0 1 3 9 5 - 0
Molecular pathology of the prions. Edited by Harry F. Baker, published by Humana Press, 2001, 279 p. Since the identification of scrapie in British sheep at the beginning of the 18th century, and later of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in man, diseases of this kind, now called “transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE)” have posed a fascinating and formidable problem to scientists. Contrary to the pasteurian dogma, these diseases can appear spontaneously, be sometimes hereditary, but nevertheless be transmitted as infectious diseases. According to Stanley Prusiner, such diseases would be caused by a protein, normally present in all mammals, but which can take a toxic conformation, either spontaneously or upon interacting with another molecule already in the toxic conformation. These infectious proteins have been called “prions”. Because of the occurrence of BSE in British cows and its apparent transmission to people, “prion” has now become a household term. However, even if it is accepted by a large majority of scientists, the prion theory still leaves unanswered a large number of questions. In this new book edited by Harry Baker—he has already published two on the subject—the present status of some of these questions is presented. Published in the series “Methods in Molecular Medicine”, this book contains 14 chapters written by major players in the prion field. It focuses on the molecular pathogenesis of prion disease and on the role of the prion protein, letting aside the epidemiological aspects. It starts by a nice piece of epistemology by Rosalind Rindley, entitled “What would Thomas Henry Huxley have made of prion diseases?”. Among other things, this chapter stresses the occurrence of several “paradigm shifts” in this field, including the fact that the present definition of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease would probably include neither the single case described by Creutzfeldt in 1920 nor three of the five cases later described by Jakob. Some of the questions addressed in the other chapters are the following: What is the function of the prion protein in its normal, non-toxic conformation? What is the basis for the toxicity of the toxic conformation? What is the molecular basis for the differences between the different “strains” of prion? What is it that targets these different strains to different neurons? What is the mechanism of transmission of the disease within the body, especially after infection by the oral route? What is the mechanism of conversion of the protein from its normal to its toxic conformation? There is some heterogeneity in the style of the different chapters. Some, very much in the line of this series of books are mainly methodological. This is the case, for instance, of chapter 5, which describes the different techniques that can be used to differentiate biochemically the different strains of prion. Other chapters, the majority, are more like reviews of a particular question. But, there again, there is heterogeneity. Thus, the two chapters concerning the function of the protein in its normal state are somewhat frustrating because they focus on a single hypothesis. Namely that this protein plays a role in the metabolism of copper, that it “functions primarily as a copper dependent anti-oxidant protein”. One is left with the notion that this is the only plausible hypothesis, when, in fact, several others have been proposed. Conversely, the chapters on the use transgenic animals and of neurografts provide beautiful state-of-the-art accounts of the “domino-stone-like manner” in which the conformation change in the protein seems to be transmitted from the intestine to the brain, via the lymphoreticular system and the peripheral nervous system. The last chapter deals with prions of yeast. The authors summarize the evidence that two well-known examples of extra-chromosomal heredity can be explained by the existence of infectious proteins bearing very much similarity with mammalian prions. They argue, rather convincingly, that the study of these systems may be of great use for the understanding, and perhaps the cure, of prion diseases.
Book reviews / Biochimie 84 (2002) 349–353
353
In spite of its heterogeneity, this book provides a wealth of information on the facts and ideas presently discussed in the prion field. As such, it would make excellent reading for scientists and students who wish to keep abreast of this fascinating and rapidly growing field. Maxime Schwartz PII: S 0 3 0 0 - 9 0 8 4 ( 0 2 ) 0 1 3 9 2 - 5
Proteins: Biochemistry and Biotechnology. Edited by Gary Walsh, published by John Wiley & Sons, 2001, 547 p., price: £ 37.50 The present book is an evolved version of an earlier book, Protein Biotechnology, by Gary Walsh and Denis Headon published in 1994. This version is an overview of the knowledge about proteins and their application. It consists of two parts which could be independent. The first part refers to basic knowledge about protein structure, stability, quantification, purification and characterization. These aspects are well explained, with up-to-date information about all these aspects. This part refers to the biochemistry of proteins. In fact, the lack of information about natural protein synthesis and degradation would merely justify naming it chemistry of proteins. The bibliography of the first part is an up-to-date one, and therefore suffers from a lack of outstanding names such as Avrameas or Engvall and Perlman for immunochemistry, or Righetti and Laemmli for electrophoresis… Nevertheless, the information supplied is very clear and very complete. The second part deals with protein biotechnology. It focuses on the production of proteins and their applications in medicine, analysis and industry. It starts with a very useful chapter about protein sources. It is followed by a chapter about large-scale purification, with an emphasis on the removal of impurities and apyrogenic substances. The rest of this part consists of an impressive number of monographs of proteins, with medical, analytical or industrial applications. Each monograph is extensive and contains detailed data about the structure and chemistry of the protein, its sources, its ways of purification; the problems linked to the purification and the use of the protein are well treated. This book is in fact an “up-to-date” state-of-the-art of protein chemistry and their applications. It is a source of wide, clear and detailed information about proteins and their use in medical, diagnosis or industrial fields. Armand Berneman PII: S 0 3 0 0 - 9 0 8 4 ( 0 2 ) 0 1 3 9 4 - 9