Our Cell Signaling and Neuroscience books provide resources for cell signaling, signal transduction, insulin pathway biology, neuroscience, and Alzheimer′s Disease research.
Apoptosis is a regulated form of cell demise that can be induced or blocked by groups of specific stimuli. It is thought critical to maintenance of homeostasis and is implicated in lowering susceptibility to tumor growth. Conversely, oversensitivity to apoptotic triggers can cause cells to be lost inappropriately from tissues, as in neurodegenerative diseases. This book examines molecular pathways regulating apoptosis, progressing from the nematode worm through Drosaphila to more complex pathways evident in mammalian cells. Differences in cell death pathway within specific tissues are addressed, as are different genes that may act to regulate progressive steps.
This book details cutting-edge techniques and readily reproducible methods for establishing neural cell cultures, measuring enzymes and their inhibitors, and using quantitative autoradiography to study monoamine uptake sites and receptors in the brain. Additional methods cover the use of flow cytometry to study developmental neurobiology, applications of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to human brain metabolism, and the study of drug metabolism.
This volume includes details on new methods that rely on recently developed instrumentation, without short-changing the time-tested standard techniques. Methods are given for detecting intracellular cytokines, nuclear antigens in leukemia and solid tumors, and cyclins. Protocols are included for performing functional studies like assessing viability, membrane potential, oxidative metabolism, drug resistance, and pharmacokinetics. Nucleic acid methods include cell cycle analysis, chromosome sorting, solid tumor ploidy analysis, apoptosis, and a flow cytometric application of FISH.
This exciting volume elucidates how GPCRs organize signal transduction and control intracellular activities. Chapters written by the recognized expert in each respective topic offer state-of-the-art updates on the principles and technology, as well as stepwise protocols for methods currently applied to the analysis of protein-receptor interactions
This book provides a guide to the use of DNA microarrays in neuroscience. Human nervous system tissue is remarkably complex. The number of cell types, the architecture, the developmental program, and the importance of environmental factors in development and functioning all pose particular challenges to researchers using gene expression studies. After an overview of the technology, the book discusses array scanning and image application, statistical methods for array analysis, specific applications of gene expression studies in the central nervous system, the use of postmortem human tissue, and novel methods for using microarray data to develop hypotheses about regulatory networks.
This edition is updated to include progress in characterizing the structure, function, regulation, and physiological relevance of each transporter. It includes discussions of gene organization and the relationship of polymorphisms of monoamine transporters with a variety of diseases, transgenic animals carrying altered genes for plasma membrane monoamine transporters, and the regulation of transporters by trafficking in relation to their phosphorylation state. Also addressed are transporter imaging techniques that allow in vivo measurement in men and animals, chimera and site-directed mutagenesis of transporters, and transporter electrophysiology.
The steroid or nuclear receptor superfamily is an important group of transcription factors of growing importance to a large number of researchers. Topics include how to clone, characterize, identify, assay for, monitor changes, and analyze kinetics of novel receptors along with characterization of co-activators, receptor interactions, ligand binding studies, DNA binding studies, and assays such as CARLA.
Given the number of exciting developments across the spectrum of receptor research in recent years, the editors have not restricted themselves to one particular approach or class of receptors. Thus they include studies from G protein-coupled surface receptors to the delivery of antisense DNA inside living cells systems. This is a review of new methods for studying cellular receptors and examines how each technique can be used on different receptor types.
Leading scientists summarize latest findings on signal transduction and cell cycle regulation and describe the effort to design and synthesize inhibiting molecules, as well as to evaluate their biochemical and biological activities. They review relevant cell surface receptors, their ligands, and their downstream pathways. Also examined are the latest findings on components of novel signaling networks controlling activity of nuclear transcription factors and cell cycle regulatory molecules. This is a guide for all investigators of cell regulation and its emerging pharmacological opportunities.
Turn to What’s Wrong with My Mouse? to discover the wealth of mouse behavioral tasks and to get the guidance you need to select the best methods and necessary controls. Chapters are organized by behavioral domain, including measurements of general health, motor functions, sensory abilities, learning and memory, feeding and drinking, reproductive, social, emotional, and reward behaviors in mutant mice. Throughout the chapters, new behavioral tasks and new research discoveries have been added, bringing the Second Edition up to date with the latest science.
In addition, it includes two new chapters: "Neurodevelopment and Neurodegeneration" discusses mouse behavioral tasks relevant to neurodevelopmental diseases, such as mental retardation and autism, and to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimers, Parkinsons, Huntingtons, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. "Putting It All Together" recommends strategies for optimizing a battery of behavioral phenotyping tests to address your specific hypotheses about gene functions.
