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Multiple molecular forms of steroid hormone receptors
Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 9 (1978) 347-348 0 Elsevier/North-Holland Scientific Publishers, Ltd.
BOOK REVIEWS
Multiple Molecular Forms of Steroid Hormone Receptors, edited by M.R. Agarwal. Elsevier/North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1977.295 pp. Dfl. 73.-; U.S. $ 29.95. It says much for modern methods that the detailed proceedings of a workshop held in June 1977 should appear in print three months later. All involved in this achievement are to be congratulated because this type of book needs to be made available to interested scientists quickly otherwise it loses its usefulness. The book contains 17 articles covering all classes of steroids, although it is somewhat unbalanced by devoting half of the chapters to glucocorticoids whereas only part of one article deals with androgens. The book should be considered as a technical manual and certainly no far-reaching biological concepts will be found within its covers. As the editors state in the preface, there is a great need to understand the somewhat bewildering array of sizes observed when steroids interact with proteins under different conditions of ionic strength, pH and protein concentration. As one article understates: ‘It is difficult to assign molecular weights to proteins when only impure systems are available.’ This gets to the heart of the current problem. Given that receptors are very sticky molecules combining with compounds of acidic, neutral and basic nature, what is the physiologic meaning of these interactions? It is probably no accident that the concluding article in the book uses this question as its title. The question mark still remains after reading the book, but then its answer was not the prime objective. The wealth of practical details contained in the book should make it mandatory reading for anyone involved in the laboratory side of studying steroid-receptor interaction. It is, however, disappointing that there is no index worthy of the name in a book of this type. R.J.B. King, London
Recent Advances in Steroid Biochemistry 1976, edited by J.R. Pasqualini. mon Press, Oxford, 1977.342 pp. U.S. $ 30.-.
Perga-
This book contains the proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium of the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry, Helsinki, 7-9 June 1976. It is a reprint-of J. Steroid Biochem., 1976, 7, 869-1211. Four different topics were covered in this Symposium: (1) cancer and steroids; (2) steroids and hypertension; (3) mechanism 347
BOOK REVIEWS
Multiple Molecular Forms of Steroid Hormone Receptors, edited by M.R. Agarwal. Elsevier/North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1977.295 pp. Dfl. 73.-; U.S. $ 29.95. It says much for modern methods that the detailed proceedings of a workshop held in June 1977 should appear in print three months later. All involved in this achievement are to be congratulated because this type of book needs to be made available to interested scientists quickly otherwise it loses its usefulness. The book contains 17 articles covering all classes of steroids, although it is somewhat unbalanced by devoting half of the chapters to glucocorticoids whereas only part of one article deals with androgens. The book should be considered as a technical manual and certainly no far-reaching biological concepts will be found within its covers. As the editors state in the preface, there is a great need to understand the somewhat bewildering array of sizes observed when steroids interact with proteins under different conditions of ionic strength, pH and protein concentration. As one article understates: ‘It is difficult to assign molecular weights to proteins when only impure systems are available.’ This gets to the heart of the current problem. Given that receptors are very sticky molecules combining with compounds of acidic, neutral and basic nature, what is the physiologic meaning of these interactions? It is probably no accident that the concluding article in the book uses this question as its title. The question mark still remains after reading the book, but then its answer was not the prime objective. The wealth of practical details contained in the book should make it mandatory reading for anyone involved in the laboratory side of studying steroid-receptor interaction. It is, however, disappointing that there is no index worthy of the name in a book of this type. R.J.B. King, London
Recent Advances in Steroid Biochemistry 1976, edited by J.R. Pasqualini. mon Press, Oxford, 1977.342 pp. U.S. $ 30.-.
Perga-
This book contains the proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium of the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry, Helsinki, 7-9 June 1976. It is a reprint-of J. Steroid Biochem., 1976, 7, 869-1211. Four different topics were covered in this Symposium: (1) cancer and steroids; (2) steroids and hypertension; (3) mechanism 347