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Vertebrate endocrinology: Fundamentals and biomedical implications, Vol. 1, morphological considerations
GENERALANDCOMPARATIVEENDOCRINOLOGY
66, 460-461
(1987)
BOOK REVIEWS Methods in Enzymology, Vol. 119, Werferons, Part C, Edited by S. PESTKA. Academic Press, Orlando, FL, 1986, 845 pp. $84.
The interferons (INF) are a series of peptides, about 160 amino acids in sequence, that are produced by mononuclearleucocytes during the immune response. They are true hormones in the sensethat they are transported by the blood to produce generalorganismic effects in addition to localized parahormonal actions that are attributed to them. Interferons can be prepared by a number of procedures,as outlined in this book, from tissuesof a variety of mammals, as well as from birds. Interferon preparationsfrom lizards and insects have been compared with those of mammals and found too different to crossreact with anti-mammalianINF antibodies. However, the comparative endocrinology and physiology of nonmammalian interferons is a virtually untouchedfield. This book is a classic, a meticulously scholarly production that should be an important element in the developmentof this rapidly growing field. In the Methods of Enzymology series alone it is the third volume since 1981.Its 100articles have 199 authors, and these numbers alone should illustrate the explosivenessof growth in immunological researchin general, and lymphokine and interferon researchin particular. Lymphokines are making an increasingly frequent appearancein suchjournals as Endocrinology, but so far as this reviewer knows, they have yet to be mentioned in a researcharticle in General and Comparative Endocrinology. This need no longer be the case, since almost all needed methodologiesin the field are well covered in this volume, from stimulation of INF production to extraction, purification, radiolabeling, and assay. A fascinating sec460 0016-6480/87
$1.50
Copyright 8 1987 by Academic Press. Inc. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.
tion of the book concernsthe productionof interferonsby plants. This appearsto be an adaptive phenomenon related to antiviral properties of certain plant species. The clear implication is that INF production may be a generally conservedproperty of obvious adaptive value for all animal species,and its exploration in invertebrates and lower vertebrates awaits to intrigue and stimulate the comparativeendocrinologist. Vertebrate Endowhollogy: Fundamen~ and JSimedical Implications, Vol. 1, Morphatogirpl Gonfdderations. Edited by P. K. T. PANG AND M. P. SCHREIBMAN. Academic Press, Orlando, FL, 1986. 496 pp., $15.
This compendium, as noted by the editor’s preface, is intended to provide an updated orientation to the morphology of the principal vertebrate endocrine organs, leaving subsequentvolumes to deal with specific topics, e.g., water and electrolyte metabolism, in a pattern similar to the seriesFish Physiology (W. Hoar and D. Randall, Eds.), or Biology of the Reptilia (Carl Gans,Ed.). The format chosen,as both the editors and various individual contributing authors note, may be more traditional than topical since the “endocrine system” of vertebrates is both much more complex and much more diffuse than anyone who studiedthe subject 20 yearsagomight have imagined. The editor’s prefacechoseto be selective and to reflect a strong commitment to a comparative approach but with an uneven balance. The corpuscles of Stannius, an organ limited to teleosts and two holosteangenera,and the caudal neurosecretory system of fishes, essentially limited as a neurohemal organ (the urophysis) to teleosts, receive excellent coverage yet juxtaglomerular cells, which
461
BOOK REVIEWS
occur in tetrapods and teleosts, find mention only in passing. A stated purpose of the series was to demonstrate the significance of a comparative approach to biomedically oriented endocrine research. This may have been somewhat difficult to achieve in this initial volume devoted to morphology and authored predominantly by comparative endocrinologists. Specific chapters on vertebrate neurohemal systems (Peter), the ultimobranchial bodies (Robertson), and the pancreatic islets (Epple) are excellent in their attempts to elucidate the potential benefits of a broader approach for medically oriented research. As in any compendium the individual contributions are uneven. The section on the pituitary gland was not as well orga-
nized, as clear, or as well ulustrated as previous treatments of this subject, e.g., Ball and Baker (1969) and Holmes and Ball (1974). Overall, however, this is a useful update and current review of comparative endocrine research particularly for the medical (i.e., noncomparative) endocrinologist. REFERENCES Holmes, R. L., and Ball, J. N. (1974). “The Pituitary Gland: A Comparative Account. Vol. 4. Cambridge Univ. Press, New York. Ball, J. N., and Baker, B. I. (1969). The pituitary gland: Anatomy and histophysiology. In “Fish Physiology” (W. S. Hoar, and D. J. Randall, Eds.), Vol. 2. Academic Press, New York.
M. D. LAGIOS Children’s
Hospital
of San Francisco
66, 460-461
(1987)
BOOK REVIEWS Methods in Enzymology, Vol. 119, Werferons, Part C, Edited by S. PESTKA. Academic Press, Orlando, FL, 1986, 845 pp. $84.
The interferons (INF) are a series of peptides, about 160 amino acids in sequence, that are produced by mononuclearleucocytes during the immune response. They are true hormones in the sensethat they are transported by the blood to produce generalorganismic effects in addition to localized parahormonal actions that are attributed to them. Interferons can be prepared by a number of procedures,as outlined in this book, from tissuesof a variety of mammals, as well as from birds. Interferon preparationsfrom lizards and insects have been compared with those of mammals and found too different to crossreact with anti-mammalianINF antibodies. However, the comparative endocrinology and physiology of nonmammalian interferons is a virtually untouchedfield. This book is a classic, a meticulously scholarly production that should be an important element in the developmentof this rapidly growing field. In the Methods of Enzymology series alone it is the third volume since 1981.Its 100articles have 199 authors, and these numbers alone should illustrate the explosivenessof growth in immunological researchin general, and lymphokine and interferon researchin particular. Lymphokines are making an increasingly frequent appearancein suchjournals as Endocrinology, but so far as this reviewer knows, they have yet to be mentioned in a researcharticle in General and Comparative Endocrinology. This need no longer be the case, since almost all needed methodologiesin the field are well covered in this volume, from stimulation of INF production to extraction, purification, radiolabeling, and assay. A fascinating sec460 0016-6480/87
$1.50
Copyright 8 1987 by Academic Press. Inc. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.
tion of the book concernsthe productionof interferonsby plants. This appearsto be an adaptive phenomenon related to antiviral properties of certain plant species. The clear implication is that INF production may be a generally conservedproperty of obvious adaptive value for all animal species,and its exploration in invertebrates and lower vertebrates awaits to intrigue and stimulate the comparativeendocrinologist. Vertebrate Endowhollogy: Fundamen~ and JSimedical Implications, Vol. 1, Morphatogirpl Gonfdderations. Edited by P. K. T. PANG AND M. P. SCHREIBMAN. Academic Press, Orlando, FL, 1986. 496 pp., $15.
This compendium, as noted by the editor’s preface, is intended to provide an updated orientation to the morphology of the principal vertebrate endocrine organs, leaving subsequentvolumes to deal with specific topics, e.g., water and electrolyte metabolism, in a pattern similar to the seriesFish Physiology (W. Hoar and D. Randall, Eds.), or Biology of the Reptilia (Carl Gans,Ed.). The format chosen,as both the editors and various individual contributing authors note, may be more traditional than topical since the “endocrine system” of vertebrates is both much more complex and much more diffuse than anyone who studiedthe subject 20 yearsagomight have imagined. The editor’s prefacechoseto be selective and to reflect a strong commitment to a comparative approach but with an uneven balance. The corpuscles of Stannius, an organ limited to teleosts and two holosteangenera,and the caudal neurosecretory system of fishes, essentially limited as a neurohemal organ (the urophysis) to teleosts, receive excellent coverage yet juxtaglomerular cells, which
461
BOOK REVIEWS
occur in tetrapods and teleosts, find mention only in passing. A stated purpose of the series was to demonstrate the significance of a comparative approach to biomedically oriented endocrine research. This may have been somewhat difficult to achieve in this initial volume devoted to morphology and authored predominantly by comparative endocrinologists. Specific chapters on vertebrate neurohemal systems (Peter), the ultimobranchial bodies (Robertson), and the pancreatic islets (Epple) are excellent in their attempts to elucidate the potential benefits of a broader approach for medically oriented research. As in any compendium the individual contributions are uneven. The section on the pituitary gland was not as well orga-
nized, as clear, or as well ulustrated as previous treatments of this subject, e.g., Ball and Baker (1969) and Holmes and Ball (1974). Overall, however, this is a useful update and current review of comparative endocrine research particularly for the medical (i.e., noncomparative) endocrinologist. REFERENCES Holmes, R. L., and Ball, J. N. (1974). “The Pituitary Gland: A Comparative Account. Vol. 4. Cambridge Univ. Press, New York. Ball, J. N., and Baker, B. I. (1969). The pituitary gland: Anatomy and histophysiology. In “Fish Physiology” (W. S. Hoar, and D. J. Randall, Eds.), Vol. 2. Academic Press, New York.
M. D. LAGIOS Children’s
Hospital
of San Francisco