Peptide Growth Factors and Their Receptors II: Pt. 2 (Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology) - Tapa dura

This two-volume treatise, the collected effort of more than 50 authors, represents the first comprehensive survey of the chemistry and biology of the set of molecules known as peptide growth factors. Although there have been many symposia on this topic, and numerous publications of reviews dealing with selected subsets of growth factors, the entired field has never been covered in a single treatise. It is essential to do this at the present time, as the number of journal articles on peptide growth factors now makes it almost im­ anyone person to stay informed on this subject by reading the possible for At the same time it is becoming increasingly apparent that primary literature. these substances are of universal importance in biology and medicine and that the original classification of these molecules, based on the laboratory setting of their discovery, as "growth factors," "lymphokines," "cytokines," or "colony-stimulating factors," was quite artifactual; they are in fact the basis of a common language for intercellular communication. As a set they affect es­ sentially every cell in the body, and in this regard they provide the basis to develop a unified science of cell biology, germane to all of biomedical research.

This two-volume treatise, the collected effort of more than 50 international experts, represents the first comprehensive survey of the chemistry and biology of the set of molecules known as peptide growth factors. These substances are of universal importance in biology and medicine and are the basis of common language of intercellular communication.-The detailed description of each of the major peptide growth factors is the principal focus of these volumes. Essential information is provided on the primary structure, gene structure, gene regulation, cell surface receptors, biological activity, and potential therapeutic applications of each growth factor. The coordinate actions of sets of growth factors and their role in controlling fundamental processes that pertain to many different cells and tissues are also dealt with.-The peptides described here are of fundamental importance for understanding the behavior of all cells, and they will be of major importance in the practice of clinical medicine in the years to come.- These volumes will be of value to both researchers and clinicians in their pursuit and application of new knowledge in this promising area.