H. BINDING and J. REINERT In collaboration with the first authors of this volume This volume is devoted to the development of cell clones and plants from ma­ nipulated cells: isolated protoplasts, cell fusion bodies, and transformed cells. Isolated protoplasts represent cells which are liberated from their walls and separated from the differentiation pattern of the organism. Investigations on re­ generation from protoplasts provide a better understanding of the process and control of developmental pathways. Whereas protoplast isolation results in alteration of the state of differentiation of a cell, protoplast fusion is a means for the creation of cells with novel genetic constitution. Fascinating features are (1) to hybridize cells which-unlike gametes -did not derive from meiosis products, (2) to bring together foreign plastids and mitochondria and to investigate their parasexual reactions, and (3) to match ge­ netic traits which had been separated for long periods of evolution. Highly sophisticated techniques have already been elaborated for the transfer of genes by the use of isolated DNA and gene transfer systems. Highly promising results have already been obtained by the use of Ti plasmids of Agrobacterium, but direct DNA transformation is also proving to be useful. Most of the results in these areas are preliminary and/or limited to a few sys­ tem.lt is the aim of this volume to present the main features, but at the same time to draw attention to problems and perspectives of protoplast regeneration and so­ matic cell genetics in order to stimulate further investigations.

Product Description: Adult Stem Cells, second edition, takes a critical look at issues concerning the developmental or differentiation potential for a variety of tissue types and for specific adult stem cell types. Since the first edition appeared a decade ago, our understanding of adult stem cells, and more specifically tissue-specific adult stem cells, has advanced tremendously...read more

Product Description: In the last two decades, our knowledge on regulatory peptides and their cognate receptors, most of which are members of the seven transmembrane receptor families, has increased enormously. Regulatory peptides are small proteins which, besides their hormonal functions in regulating cellular metabolism in various tissues, may also act as neurotransmitters, and thus they often carry the prefix "neuro...read more

Product Description: Apoptosis is currently one of the fastest moving fields in biology with spectacular progress made over the past few years in delineating the molecular It is now indisputable that apoptosis mechanisms which underlie this process. plays an essential role in normal cell physiology and that aberrant apoptosis can manifest itself in a variety of human disorders...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: This volume deals with many of the recent advances made in uncovering the molecular and cellular basis of apoptosis and elaborates on how this accumulating knowledge is helping us to understand the significance of apoptosis in pathogenesis of diseases arising from inappropriate cell death...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Immunofluorescence, a suitable laboratory method for the microscopic demonstration of antigens and antibodies in biological materials, useable, for example, to provide evidence for the pathogenesis of disease in histological or cytological preparations and for tumour cell differentiation...read more

The form and function of every living organism on the earth depends on the complex regulation of gene expression. This is carried out by controlling and interdigitating spatial and temporal patterns of gene activity during the life­ time of eukaryotic organisms. This is most dramatically apparent during early stages of development, when new types of cells and organs are being formed, often during very short time spans. To achieve this, it is vital that developmentally important genes can be kept in inactive or active states which are stably inherited in the soma. Indeed, it is now wellknown that the propen­ sity for a gene to be transcribed or silenced is stably propagated through many cell generations, even from parent to progeny. This phenomenon constitutes a type of extragenetic or epigenetic memory of cell identity and developmental potential which has been fundamental to the evolution of complex lifeforms, such as the reader of this book. This monograph focuses on a particular aspect of the epigenetic control of gene function: genomic imprinting. This defines a phenomenon where some genes or whole chromosomes can be silenced, activated, or even deleted depending on their parental origin. The impact of genomic imprinting is most clearly seen in the areas of cancer, clinical genetics, and development. Many of the processes associated with genomic imprinting can be observed in plants, yeast and man, for example, and may constitute, therefore, principles which are very conserved on an evolutionary scale.

Product Description: This book highlights the importance of endothelial cells as key players in the functioning of the nervous system under both normal and pathological conditions. The book demonstrates that endothelial cells are an essential and dynamic cell population in the central nervous system, with multiple and complex roles, not only in the maintenance of homeostasis, but also in the regulation of important processes...read more

Product Description: This book is the outcome of a meeting held in Davos, Switzerland, February 7-12, 1982 focused primarily on mononuclear phagocytes and on natural killer (NK) cells. This IX International RES Congress was attended by 489 scientists from 31 countries and there were 340 scientific presentations in oral or poster session...read more

Product Description: Mesodenn is a key tissue in early development. It is involved in the differentiation of almost every organ in the body, not merely as a structural component, but as an active participant in the establishment of diverse cell types...read more

Mammary Tumor Cell Cycle, Differentiation and Metastasis is the fifth volume since 1988 in a series designed to broadly examine current advances in the cellular and molecular biology of breast cancer. As in previous volumes, the editors have invited recognized experts in cutting-edge topics to provide a chapter focused on their area of research. The editors have turned to the researchers who study rodent models of the disease and to those who study the cellular and molecular basis of human breast cancer. The first section of the book is devoted to new mouse models of mammary development and tumorigenesis. The second section moves to studies of human breast cancer and focuses on receptors, signalling, and the cell cycle. The final section deals with defective tissue interactions in human breast cancer. We are now in a period of extremely rapid accumulation of data on the molecular and cellular biology of breast cancer. These findings are highlighted in chapters from Mammary Tumor Cell Cycle, Differentiation and Metastasis: Advances in Cellular and Molecular Biology of Breast Cancer.

Product Description: 1. Secondary Metabolism and Differentiation In addition to the primary metabolic reactions, which are similar in all living beings (formation and breakdown of nucleic acids and proteins as well as of their precursors, of most carbohy­ drates, of some carboxylic acids, etc...read more

1 Kevin Moses It is now 25 years since the study of the development of the compound eye in Drosophila really began with a classic paper (Ready et al. 1976). In 1864, August Weismann published a monograph on the development of Diptera and included some beautiful drawings of the developing imaginal discs (Weismann 1864). One of these is the first description of the third instar eye disc in which Weismann drew a vertical line separating a posterior domain that included a regular pattern of clustered cells from an anterior domain without such a pattern. Weismann suggested that these clusters were the precursors of the adult ommatidia and that the line marks the anterior edge of the eye. In his first suggestion he was absolutely correct - in his second he was wrong. The vertical line shown was not the anterior edge of the eye, but the anterior edge of a moving wave of patterning and cell type specification that 112 years later (1976) Ready, Hansen and Benzer would name the "morphogenetic furrow". While it is too late to hear from August Weismann, it is a particular pleasure to be able to include a chapter in this Volume from the first author of that 1976 paper: Don Ready! These past 25 years have seen an astonishing explosion in the study of the fly eye (see Fig.