Cell adhesion comes into play in almost all domains of life. The range of situations in which it occurs, involving organisms, living tissues, microorganisms or single cells, is endless. Cell adhesion is involved in the binding of a cell to a surface, extracellular matrix, or another cell using cell adhesion molecules. It is crucial in the formation and maintenance of coherent multicellular structures. Cell surface adhesion molecules (integrins, for example) which transmit information from the extracellular matrix to the cell play vital roles in numerous cellular processes. Some of these include: cell growth, differentiation, embryogenesis, immune cell transmigration and response, and cancer metastasis. Also cell adhesion is involved in most of pathological situations. This book is divided into four parts as follows: Part 1: Fundamentals of Cell Adhesion; Part 2: Methods to Study Cell Adhesion; Part 3: Surface Treatments to Control Cell Adhesion and Behavior; and Part 4: Cell Adhesion in Medicine and Therapy. A bountiful information is covered in this book which represents the cumulative wisdom of many world-renowned researchers( physicists, materials scientists, chemists and biologists) engaged in unraveling the mechanisms of cell adhesion and how to mitigate or control it. It quite patent from the topics covered in this book that the subject of cell adhesion is truly interdisciplinary. This book should be of great interest and value to anyone interested in cell adhesion which is vitally important to human life.

The field of signal transduction research is one of the fastest growing in all of biomedical research in recent years. Signaling through cell adhesion molecules have long been of interest because of their importance in embryonic development, homeostasis, immune responses, wound healing , and malignant transformation. However, it is only recently re

Adhesive Interactions in Normal and Transformed Cells describes the basic mechanisms of the ability of tissue cells to attach to each other and to the extracellular matrix. These adhesive interactions are pivotal regulators of main cellular functions, such as proliferation, survival and migration. The adhesive interactions are involved in embryonic development, regeneration, and also in inflammation and degeneration processes, which are at the basis of many diseases. Serious alterations in cell adhesion caused by the oncogenic transformation play a key role in cancer invasion and metastasis. This volume provides comprehensive information about structural, mechanistic and signaling aspects of adhesive interactions in both normal and cancer cells in comparison. Integration of such aspects of the adhesive process as structure, relation to cell systems of receptors and cytoskeleton, function, signaling pathways, and the alterations in tumor cells constitutes the strongest point of this work. The results of the long-time author’s research are included in the book. The author was one of pioneers, who used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to study the cell surface morphology of normal cultured cells and the cells underwent the oncogenic transformation, processes of their attachment to and spreading on the surfaces of a solid substratum, and also surprising ability of the cells to respond to various geometric configurations of the substrata surfaces. Adhesive Interactions in Normal and Transformed Cells has both biological and medical aspects and, therefore, it can be interesting not only for cell biologists, developmental biologists and cancer researchers, but also for physicians. It is intended for researchers, postdocs, undergraduate and graduate students.

The microcirculation is highly responsive to, and a vital participant in, the inflammatory response. All segments of the microvasculature (arterioles, capillaries, and venules) exhibit characteristic phenotypic changes during inflammation that appear to be directed toward enhancing the delivery of inflammatory cells to the injured/infected tissue, isolating the region from healthy tissue and the systemic circulation, and setting the stage for tissue repair and regeneration. The best characterized responses of the microcirculation to inflammation include impaired vasomotor function, reduced capillary perfusion, adhesion of leukocytes and platelets, activation of the coagulation cascade, and enhanced thrombosis, increased vascular permeability, and an increase in the rate of proliferation of blood and lymphatic vessels. A variety of cells that normally circulate in blood (leukocytes, platelets) or reside within the vessel wall (endothelial cells, pericytes) or in the perivascular space (mast cells, macrophages) are activated in response to inflammation. The activation products and chemical mediators released from these cells act through different well-characterized signaling pathways to induce the phenotypic changes in microvessel function that accompany inflammation. Drugs that target a specific microvascular response to inflammation, such as leukocyte-endothelial cell adhesion or angiogenesis, have shown promise in both the preclinical and clinical studies of inflammatory disease. Future research efforts in this area will likely identify new avenues for therapeutic intervention in inflammation. Table of Contents: Introduction / Historical Perspectives / Anatomical Considerations / Impaired Vasomotor Responses / Capillary Perfusion / Angiogenesis / Leukocyte-Endothelial Cell Adhesion / Platelet-Vessel Wall Interactions / Coagulation and Thrombosis / Endothelial Barrier Dysfunction / Epilogue / References

Explores a Range of Multiscale Biomechanics/Mechanobiology ConceptsCell and Matrix Mechanics presents cutting-edge research at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels in the field of cell mechanics. This book involves key experts in the field, and covers crucial areas of cell and tissue mechanics, with an emphasis on the roles of mechanical forc

Offers a detailed introduction to the fundamental phenomena that govern cell adhesion and describes bioengineering processes that employ cell adhesion, focusing on both biochemical and biomedical applications. All industrially relevant issues of cell adhesion - from basic concepts, quantitative experiments, and mathematical models to applications in bioreactors and other process equipment - are examined.