The discovery that inositol lipids are integral in cellular signaling mechanisms has been one of the most exciting breakthroughs in recent years. As secondary messengers in a wide variety of tissues and involved processes as diverse as rapid contraction of skeletal muscle, insulin secretion, and the slow activation of cell proliferation in cancer cells, their impact on biochemistry is akin to that of cyclic AMP two decades ago. Drawing together the many strands of research on inositol lipid-mediated signalling and containing contributions by leading authorities in their fields, Inositol Lipids in Cell Signalling is essential for any involved biochemist, cell biologist, or pharmacologist.

This book provides the most updated information of how membrane lipids mediate protein signaling from studies carried out in animal and plant cells. Also, there are some chapters that go beyond and expand these studies of protein-lipid interactions at the structural level. The book begins with a literature review from investigations associated to sphingolipids, followed by studies that describe the role of phosphoinositides in signaling and closing with the function of other key lipids in signaling at the plasma membrane and intracellular organelles.

Many of the phospholipases and even the receptor for inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate have recently been cloned and sequenced and play an important role in neurotransmission. Methods developed in recent years for the study of the enzymes and intermediates involved in the regulation of neuronal signal transduction involving phospholipid turnover are presented in this volume. - Techniques for examining the role of phosphoinositides in signal transduction - Techniques related to protein kinase C - Analysis of inositol phosphates - Techniques to analyze phospholipid turnover in the brain

This comprehensive update on plant lipid signaling covers the measurement, regulation and function of phospholipases, lipid kinases, lipid phosphatases, inositolpolphosphates, polyphosphoinositides, phosphatic acid, and other lipid signals such as oxylipins.