Model systems in signal transduction
By: editors, Shirish Shenolikar, Angus C. Nairn.
Contributors: Shenolikar, Shirish.; Nairn, Angus C.
Series: Advances in second messenger and phosphoprotein research -- v. 27.
Publisher: Raven Press
Published: 1993
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 207
Subjects: Cellular signal transduction.
Description: This volume presents the work of distinguished investigators who have conducted molecular studies of specific intracellular signaling pathways in several different vertebrate and invertebrate species. The contributors demonstrate that this research can yield significant insights into the evolutionary pressures experienced by various domains of essential signaling components. The goal of this new line of investigation is to gain a further understanding of the fundamental or highly conserved functions of these regulatory components and distinguish these from their peripheral or more specialized roles in individual organisms. The book includes a review of recent findings on the phylogeny of adenylyl cyclases and an analysis of the structure-function relationship of the calcium-calmodulin-regulated protein phosphatases in different species. A study of cyclic nucleotides and calcium signaling in Paramecium shows how second messengers are involved in the regulation of ion channels that control the motility of Paramecium. This chapter also presents fascinating new evidence that the ion channel and the ability to synthesize cyclic AMP reside in the same molecule, namely, the Paramecium adenyl cyclase. A group of eminent neurobiologists reviews their groundbreaking research using Aplysia as a model system to define the molecular events regulating learning and memory. These studies shed new light on the roles of second messenger pathways in neuronal plasticity, and further demonstrate the close relationship between second messengers and ion channels in the control of cell physiology. Other contributors examine the role of highly specialized channels, the gap junctions, in mediating cell-to-cell communication in higher ordered systems. Model Systems in Signal Transduction is an essential source of information for researchers in virtually all biological sciences, including cell and molecular biology, pharmacology, biochemistry, physiology, and the neurosciences. It offers new insights into the structure and function of many key signaling pathways and shows the vitally important knowledge that can be gained from studies using lower organisms as model systems.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.