This contributed volume focuses on cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), and explores the ways in which signaling mechanisms at the biochemical, molecular, and cellular levels in the blood vessels (vascular) and heart contribute to the underlying causes of development and progression of the CVDs. This volume covers unique topics such as oxidant signaling in vascular and heart diseases and health, cytoskeletal signaling in vascular health and disease, phospholipase signaling in CVDs, lipid signaling in vascular and myocardial health and diseases, and drug discovery in cellular signaling for cardiovascular diseases. This book assembles the most important discoveries made by leaders on the cellular signaling mechanisms operating behind the development and progression of life-threatening CVDs. It is an extremely useful resource for the investigators in the field of CVDs, and opens the discussion for further discovery of efficient management and effective treatment of the CVDs.

In recent years, powered by evolving technologies and experimental design, studies have better illuminated the regulating role of proteolytic enzymes across human development and pathologies. Proteolytic Signaling in Health and Disease provides an in-depth discussion of fundamental physiological and developmental processes regulated by proteases, from protein turnover and autophagy to antigen processing and presentation and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. Moving on from basic biology, international chapter authors examine a range of pathological conditions associated with proteolysis, including inflammation, wound healing, and cancer. Later chapters discuss the newly discovered network of connected events among proteases (and their inhibitors), the so-called 'protease web', and how best to study it. This book also empowers new research with up-to-date analytical methods and step-by-step protocols for studying proteolytic signaling events. - Examines biological events triggered by proteolytic enzyme activity across human development and pathologies - Discusses the role of proteolytic signaling in inflammation, wound healing, and cancer, among other disease types - Features methods and protocols supporting further study of proteolytic signaling events - Includes chapter contributions from international leaders in the field

This report considers the biological and behavioral mechanisms that may underlie the pathogenicity of tobacco smoke. Many Surgeon General's reports have considered research findings on mechanisms in assessing the biological plausibility of associations observed in epidemiologic studies. Mechanisms of disease are important because they may provide plausibility, which is one of the guideline criteria for assessing evidence on causation. This report specifically reviews the evidence on the potential mechanisms by which smoking causes diseases and considers whether a mechanism is likely to be operative in the production of human disease by tobacco smoke. This evidence is relevant to understanding how smoking causes disease, to identifying those who may be particularly susceptible, and to assessing the potential risks of tobacco products.

Cellular and Molecular Pathobiology of Cardiovascular Disease focuses on the pathophysiology of common cardiovascular disease in the context of its underlying mechanisms and molecular biology. This book has been developed from the editors' experiences teaching an advanced cardiovascular pathology course for PhD trainees in the biomedical sciences, and trainees in cardiology, pathology, public health, and veterinary medicine. No other single text-reference combines clinical cardiology and cardiovascular pathology with enough molecular content for graduate students in both biomedical research and clinical departments. The text is complemented and supported by a rich variety of photomicrographs, diagrams of molecular relationships, and tables. It is uniquely useful to a wide audience of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in areas from pathology to physiology, genetics, pharmacology, and more, as well as medical residents in pathology, laboratory medicine, internal medicine, cardiovascular surgery, and cardiology. - Explains how to identify cardiovascular pathologies and compare with normal physiology to aid research - Gives concise explanations of key issues and background reading suggestions - Covers molecular bases of diseases for better understanding of molecular events that precede or accompany the development of pathology

This timely volume provides a comprehensive overview of glucocorticoids and their role in regulating many aspects of physiology and their use in the treatment of disease. The book is broken into four sections that begin by giving a general introduction to glucocorticoids and a brief history of the field. The second section will discuss the effects of glucocorticoids on metabolism, while the third section will cover the effects of glucocorticoids on key tissues. The final section will discuss general topics, such as animal models in glucocorticoid research and clinical implications of glucocorticoid research. Featuring chapters from leaders in the field, this volume will be of interest to both researchers and clinicians.

This Surgeon General's report returns to the topic of the health effects of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke. The last comprehensive review of this evidence by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) was in the 1986 Surgeon General's report, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Smoking, published 20 years ago this year. This new report updates the evidence of the harmful effects of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke. This large body of research findings is captured in an accompanying dynamic database that profiles key epidemiologic findings, and allows the evidence on health effects of exposure to tobacco smoke to be synthesized and updated (following the format of the 2004 report, The Health Consequences of Smoking). The database enables users to explore the data and studies supporting the conclusions in the report. The database is available on the Web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco.

This volume contains papers presented at the Ninth International Conference on Second Messengers and Phosphoproteins. Written by leading scientists - including two Nobel Laureates - the papers highlight contemporary advances in the rapidly evolving field of signal transduction. The findings presented are of vital significance to researchers in virtually all biomedical fields, including pharmacology, molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, the neurosciences, and physiology. The contributors offer new insights into fundamental cell signalling mechanisms and explore the role of these mechanisms in physiological and pathophysiological responses in a variety of systems. Coverage includes many topics that are currently under intensive study, such as growth factors and special signalling systems; protein phosphatases and metabolic pathways; calcium and ion channels; cyclic GMP and cyclic AMP; and receptors and G proteins.