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Biophysical studies in the 1950ies and 1960ies led to the realization that the water permeability of certain biological membranes must be due to the presence of water transporting proteins. This hypothesis was confirmed in 1991 and 1992 with the pioneering discovery of the first molecular membrane water channel, CHIP28, by Agre and coworkers. This integral membrane protein, which is abundant in the erythrocyte membrane and in many epithelial cells, is now called aquaporin-1 or AQP1. Thus the terms water channel or aquaporin are synonymous. In July 2000 more than 200 researchers came together in Gothenburg, Sweden, for the `3rd International Conference on the Molecular Biology and Physiology of Water and Solute Transport" to discuss progress in this emerging research field. 58 different presentations from this conference are the basis for this book. Cumulatively, these 58 short chapters provide a balanced overview complementing numerous recent reviews in this field.
To produce energy, aerobic organisms transform oxygen molecules into water. This reductive mechanism yields toxic radical intermediates, collectively known as reactive oxygen species (ROS). Paradoxically, these physiological processes entail the production of potentially damaging species. Evolution has turned this apparent disadvantage into an opportunity for transmitting information. As a result, redox signaling within the cell is an efficient exquisitely organized process. A key element for its regulation is the physical separation of sources and targets into different cell compartments. Peroxiporins, H2O2 transporting proteins spanning biological membranes, distribute the signal from emit...
Adipose tissue is a specialized connective tissue which, depending on type, plays different and significant roles in the human body: protects against environmental factors, stores lipids and triacylglycerol, synthesizes fatty acids and is involved in the process of thermogenesis. It is also a major secretory organ and highly active metabolic tissue. It secretes, for example, cholesterol, retinol, steroid hormones, prostaglandins and proteins known as "adipokines". Some of these molecules may be associated with pathologies such as obesity and insulin resistance. In humans, there are two main sites of adipose tissue accumulation: visceral and subcutaneous. Obesity is a worldwide health problem. This book also discusses a series of up-to-date topics about this pathology.
Aquaporin Regulation, Volume 112, the latest release in the Vitamins and Hormones series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters highlighting Perspectives on the evolution of aquaporin superfamily, Structure and dynamics of aquaporin-1, Selectivity and Transport in Aquaporins from Molecular Simulation Studies, Aquaporin regulation in metabolic organs, Phosphorylation of human AQP2 and its role in trafficking, Regulation of Aquaporin-2 by RNA Interference, Aquaporin Regulation: Lessons from Secretory Vesicles, CFTR Regulation of Aquaporin-mediated Water Transport, Glucocorticoid Gene Regulation of Aquaporin-7, and much more.
The aquaporin field has matured at an exceptionally fast pace and we are at the verge to develop serious strategies to therapeutically modulate aquaporin function directly or via regulatory networks. Key prerequisites are available today: i. a considerable (and growing) number of aquaporin crystal structures for the rational design of inhibitory molecules, ii. elaborate molecular dynamics simulation techniques for theoretical analyses of selectivity mechanisms and docking experiments, iii. comprehensive data on aquaporin immunohistochemistry, iv. aquaporin knockout animals for physiological studies, and v. assay systems for compound library screenings. The structure of this volume on aquaporins follows the points laid out above and thus covers the developments from basic research to potential pharmacological use. Situated between pharmacology textbooks and recent scientific papers this book provides a timely overview for readers from the fundamental as well as the applied disciplines.
The Japan Association of Simulation & Gaming (JASAG) and the Science Council of Japan (SCJ) hosted ISAGA 2003, the 34th annual conference of the International Simulation and Gaming Association (ISAGA), at Kazusa Akademia Park in Kisarazu, Japan,August 25–29, 2003. About 450 participants and guests attended,with 330 from Japan and 101 from 34 other countries. The number of submitted papers and reports exceeded 210, and in addition, many poster presentations and experiential sessions were held. This book is made up of 30 papers submitted to ISAGA 2003 and provides a good example of the diverse scope and standard of research achieved in simu- tion and gaming today.The theme of ISAGA 2003 was “Social Contributions and Responsibilities of Simulation and Gaming.” Looking back over the history of simulation and gaming research in Japan,in 1991 JASAG hosted ISAGA 1991 in Kyoto. However,even though there were only 12 years between ISAGA 1991 and ISAGA 2003,and both conferences were held in the same country,Japan,for Japanese researchers,the meaning of hosting these two international conferences of simulation and gaming research was very different.
This book provides a state-of-the-art report on our current understanding of aquaporins and the future direction of the field. Aquaporins (AQPs) are a group of water-channel proteins that are specifically permeable to water and other small molecules, such as glycerol and urea. To date thirteen water-channel proteins (AQP0 – AQP12) have been cloned and the mechanisms and physiological functions of water transport across biological membranes have long been the subject of interest. Recent advances in the molecular biology and physiology of water transport have yielded new insights into how and why water moves across cell membranes, and studies on aquaporin knockout mouse models suggest that a...
By living in a 'world of water' fish are exposed to major challenges in maintaining water homeostasis. These are opposite in nature for fish living in marine and freshwater milieus; however, in both cases threatening, obligatory water fluxes due to global osmotic gradients must be compensated by opposite fluxes, driven by body fluid filtration and/or locally created osmotic gradients. In general, water may pass epithelia that are hydrophobic in nature by para- and/or transcellular pathways, the former mainly defined by the characteristics of tight junctions, the latter determined by the combined permeability of apical and baso-lateral cellular membranes. Transcellular water transport may occ...