Current Topics in Membranes and Transport

I am extremely honored and pleased to have the opportunity to write a few introductory words for this timely volume on Na + /It exchange. This is a field of investigation that I entered into by challenge and necessity, embraced with passion and fmally left in my quest for new discoveries in growth control. Ten years, one third of my scientific life, has been devoted to uncovering the mysteries of intracellular pH (PH;) regulation with respect to growth factor action. I got started on this new topic in 1980, when I heard a rather provocative hypothesis presented by Enrique Rozengurt at an ICN-UCLA Keystone meeting on "Cell Surface and Malignancy". He showed that all mitogens induced amiloride-sensitive Na + entry into resting cells and proposed that, if a compound stimulates Na + influx, it could be a mitogen. In support of his proposal Enrique reported that the amphipathic polypeptide, mellitin, which induced Na+ influx, was indeed mitogenic for 3T3 cells. This was only correlation at this stage. However, I was fascinated by this talk. I immediately approached Enrique to inform him of my skepticism about this beautiful story, and to indicate that I would only be convinced when I succeeded in isolating mutant fibroblasts lacking the amiloride-sensitive Na+ transporter. ''Good luck!" was his response.

This book is devoted to the red blood cell membrane, its structure and function, and abnormalities in disease states. It presents a well-documented and well-illustrated comprehensive picture of clinical manifestations of red blood cell disorders.

Physiology of the Gastrointestinal Tract, Fifth Edition — winner of a 2013 Highly Commended BMA Medical Book Award for Internal Medicine — covers the study of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of the GI Tract while linking the clinical disease or disorder, bridging the gap between clinical and laboratory medicine. The gastrointestinal system is responsible for the breakdown and absorption of various foods and liquids needed to sustain life. Other diseases and disorders treated by clinicians in this area include: food allergies, constipation, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, gallstones, gastritis, GERD, hemorrhoids, IBS, lactose intolerance, pancreatic, appendicitis, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, peptic ulcer, stomach ulcer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer and liver transplants. The new edition is a highly referenced and useful resource for gastroenterologists, physiologists, internists, professional researchers, and instructors teaching courses for clinical and research students. - 2013 Highly Commended BMA Medical Book Award for Internal Medicine - Discusses the multiple processes governing gastrointestinal function - Each section edited by preeminent scientist in the field - Updated, four-color illustrations

How is the heartbeat generated? What controls the strength of contraction of heart muscle? What are the links between cardiac structure and function? How does our understanding of skeletal and smooth muscle and non-muscle cells influence our thinking about force development in the heart? Are there important species differences in how contraction is regulated in the heart? How do the new molecular data fit together in understanding the heart beat? What goes wrong in ischemia, hypertrophy, and heart failure? This book paints a modern `portrait' of how the heart works and in this picture the author shows a close-up of the structural, biochemical, and physiological links between excitation and contraction. The author takes the reader through a series of important, interrelated topics with great clarity and continuity and also includes many useful illustrations and tables. The book starts by considering the cellular structures involved in excitation-contraction coupling and then described the characteristics of the myofilaments as the end effector of excitation-contraction coupling. A general scheme of calcium regulation is described and the possible sources and sinks of calcium are discussed in simple, but quantitative terms. The cardiac action potential and its many underlying currents are reviewed. Then the characteristics of some key calcium transport systems (calcium channels, sodium/calcium exchange and SR calcium uptake and release) are discussed in detail. This is then built into a more integrated picture of calcium regulation in succeeding chapters by detailed discussions of excitation-calcium coupling mechanisms (in skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle), the interplay between calcium regulatory processes, and finally mechanisms of cardiac inotropy, calcium overload, and dysfunction (e.g., ischemia, hypertrophy, and heart failure). Excitation-Contraction Coupling and Cardiac Contractile Force – Second Edition is an invaluable source of information for anyone who is interested in how the heart beat is controlled and especially suited for students of the cardiovascular system at all levels from medical/graduate students through senior investigators in related fields.

Studies on the colon not only serve medical interest or clinical purposes, but are also a highly interesting subject of comparative physiology, from which we can learn much about the basic principles in physiology. Presented here are examples of research on colonic ion transport of each vertebrate group, including the classical models of epithelia, rat and rabbit, and also on the special and unique features in fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and selected mammals such as the guinea pig. Physiology and pathophysiology of ion transport in the human large intestine are as well covered as the use of colonic cell cultures as model systems for crypt cell properties.

Knowledge of cardiac ion channels and transporters has advanced remarkably in the last two decades with the development of patch-clamp and molecular biological techniques. This textbook offers a comprehensive overview of structures and functions of ion channels and transporters in the heart. Readers are first introduced to the molecular biology and electrophysiology of all the important ion channels. After discussing their developmental changes, the pharmacology and pathophysiology of clinically-relevant ion channels are reviewed. Molecular aspects of the cardiac excitation-contraction coupling and intracellular Ca2+ regulation by ion transporters are also described. The book will be useful to electrophysiologists, cardiac physiologists and pharmacologists, and molecular biologists interested in ion channels at all levels. For research specialists, the book will provide a perspective of the field. The book can be used as a reference source for working scientists in the fields of ion channels, biophysics, cardiac electrophysiology, and pharmacology. It is aimed at graduate and medical students, designed for use as a textbook for graduate and medical courses.