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Transgenics in endocrinology
European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology 103 (2002) 195
Book review Transgenics in endocrinology Martin M. Matzuk, Chester W. Brown, T. Rajendra Kumar (Eds.), Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, USA, 2001, 485 pp., ISBN 0-89603-764-9 The introduction to the book says it all, ‘‘prior to the 1980s, we understood endocrine disorders and the field of endocrinology through patients with genetic mutations, protein purification, physiological experiments, tissue culture and radioimmunoassays.’’ The first mice expressing foreign hormone genes (transgenes) were reported in the early 80s, shortly thereafter followed by the introduction of ‘knock out’ technology by homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells. Since then thousands of different transgenic animals have been studied, and this book attempts to cover these studies in the area of endocrinology and reproduction. This is an in depth, first of its kind book focusing on transgenic and knock out technology in mice for the study of endocrine systems, especially reproduction. The editors are very well known in this area and they have motivated an impressive group of experts to write 20 exhaustive chapters on topics such as mullerian-inhibiting substance, Bcl 2, C-kit/kit ligand, progesterone receptors, prolactin, oxytocin
and vasopressin, the insulin-like growth factors system and glycoprotein hormones. Moreover, broad areas like sexual differentiation, ovarian function, spermatogenesis, steroidogenesis, mammary gland development, obesity, the skeleton and finally the prostate are covered in separate chapters. This broad scope combined with comprehensive tables and reference lists renders this an excellent, timely and encyclopedic source of information for the scientist working in this area. It is wonderful to have easy access to detailed information regarding the phenotype expression and corresponding references for specific knock outs or overexpression of hundreds of different genes. This wealth of information is not going to be easy to digest for the clinical reader. However, I would strongly recommend reading this book because this novel research has revolutionized our understanding of the basic principles regulating reproduction and the obtained knowledge is now beginning to impact on clinical medicine. Bart C.J.M. Fauser Center of Reproductive Medicine Erasmus Medical Center, Dr. Molewaterplein 40 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands E-mail address: [email protected] (B.C.J.M. Fauser)
0301-2115/02/$ – see front matter # 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. PII: S 0 3 0 1 - 2 1 1 5 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 1 0 5 - 7
Book review Transgenics in endocrinology Martin M. Matzuk, Chester W. Brown, T. Rajendra Kumar (Eds.), Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, USA, 2001, 485 pp., ISBN 0-89603-764-9 The introduction to the book says it all, ‘‘prior to the 1980s, we understood endocrine disorders and the field of endocrinology through patients with genetic mutations, protein purification, physiological experiments, tissue culture and radioimmunoassays.’’ The first mice expressing foreign hormone genes (transgenes) were reported in the early 80s, shortly thereafter followed by the introduction of ‘knock out’ technology by homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells. Since then thousands of different transgenic animals have been studied, and this book attempts to cover these studies in the area of endocrinology and reproduction. This is an in depth, first of its kind book focusing on transgenic and knock out technology in mice for the study of endocrine systems, especially reproduction. The editors are very well known in this area and they have motivated an impressive group of experts to write 20 exhaustive chapters on topics such as mullerian-inhibiting substance, Bcl 2, C-kit/kit ligand, progesterone receptors, prolactin, oxytocin
and vasopressin, the insulin-like growth factors system and glycoprotein hormones. Moreover, broad areas like sexual differentiation, ovarian function, spermatogenesis, steroidogenesis, mammary gland development, obesity, the skeleton and finally the prostate are covered in separate chapters. This broad scope combined with comprehensive tables and reference lists renders this an excellent, timely and encyclopedic source of information for the scientist working in this area. It is wonderful to have easy access to detailed information regarding the phenotype expression and corresponding references for specific knock outs or overexpression of hundreds of different genes. This wealth of information is not going to be easy to digest for the clinical reader. However, I would strongly recommend reading this book because this novel research has revolutionized our understanding of the basic principles regulating reproduction and the obtained knowledge is now beginning to impact on clinical medicine. Bart C.J.M. Fauser Center of Reproductive Medicine Erasmus Medical Center, Dr. Molewaterplein 40 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands E-mail address: [email protected] (B.C.J.M. Fauser)
0301-2115/02/$ – see front matter # 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. PII: S 0 3 0 1 - 2 1 1 5 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 1 0 5 - 7