This volume is a collection of articles written by Nobel Laureate Rita Levi-Montalcini and published from 1942 to 1995. Studies described in the first part set the stage for the discovery of a protein molecule which became known as the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF), described in detail in the second part. The NGF synthesized in minute amounts in all vertebrate tissues, plays an essential role in the differentiation and survival of several nerve cell populations in the peripheral and central nervous system. The discovery of the NGF was defined by the Nobel Foundation as a milestone in developmental neurobiology, and the author was awarded in 1986 with this prestigious award. Studies pursued in subsequent years and still in progress, have unveiled other fundamental properties of the NGF, described in the third part of this volume.

Illustrations by Lorie M. Gavulic, MFA Sponsored by the American Society for Neurochemistry.

Completely revised and expanded, this second edition of The Cytokine FactsBook is the most up-to-date reference manual available for all current well-characterized interleukins, cytokines, and their receptors. An additional 52 cytokines are included, doubling the number of entries from the previous edition. The key properties of each cytokine are described and presented in a very accessible format with diagrams for each of the receptors. The Cytokine FactsBook includes free online access to the regularly updated Cytokine Webfacts. Cytokine Webfacts is a web-based comprehensive compendium of facts about cytokines and their receptors that includes a variety of data representations, such as text, signal pathway diagrams and 3D images. This exciting resource is integrated into other databases via hypertext links to provide a unique network, and contains a web-enabled version of RasMol for viewing structures.

Neural Regeneration provides an overview of cutting-edge knowledge on a broad spectrum of neural regeneration, including: Neural regeneration in lower vertebrates Neural regeneration in the peripheral nervous system Neural regeneration in the central nervous system Transplantation-mediated neural regeneration Clinical and translational research on neural regeneration The contributors to this book are experts in their fields and work at distinguished institutions in the United States, Canada, Australia, and China. Nervous system injuries, including peripheral nerve injuries, brain and spinal cord injuries, and stroke affect millions of people worldwide every year. As a result of this high incidence of neurological injuries, neural regeneration and repair is becoming a rapidly growing field dedicated to the new discoveries to promote structural and functional recoveries based on neural regeneration. The ultimate goal is to translate the most optimal regenerative strategies to treatments of human nervous system injuries. This valuable reference book is useful for students, postdoctors, and basic and clinical scientists who are interested in neural regeneration research.

A host of environmental factors regulate the embryonic development of neurons. In adults, the survival of neurons, the regeneration of damaged axons, and plastic changes in axonal arborization are also controlled by a complex array of environmental cues. An important category of regulatory influences involves target-derived hormone-like peptides act ing on neuronal cell surface receptors. Nerve growth factor (NGF) was the first such factor to be characterized (LEVI MONTALCINI and HAMBURGER 1953) and has served as the model against which all similar factors are compared. A number of factors with properties similar to NGF have been described with activities toward differing populations of neurons. Many of these factors have been characterized only poorly at the biochemical level. However, several factors have been charac terized to the extent that molecular clones are available and complete amino acid sequences are known. These include: three structurally related factors, NGF itself (SCOTT et al. 1983), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (LEIBROCK et al. 1989), and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) (MAISONPIERRE et al. 1990; HOHN et al. 1990); ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) (LIN et al. 1989) and a second set of structural homologs; acidic and basic fibroblast growth factors (aFGF, bFGF) (ABRAHAM et al. 1986; JAYE et al. 1986). Investigators have cloned the receptors for NGF (JOHNSON et al. 1986; RADEKE et al. 1987) and FGF (LEE et al. 1989).

Biological membranes are often effected by diseases. Molecular events leading to or arising from pathological changes in the course of different diseases are as yet not clearly understood. This competent study by leading experts covers changes of the cellular environment, membranes and the metabolic functions during tissue growth and differentiation as well as aspects of abnormal organelle function in lysosomal storage diseases, peroxisomal and mitochondrial disorders, enzyme defects and regulatory defects of receptors due to oncogenes.