Molecular Control Of Cell Differentiation And Morphogenesis

Molecular Control of Proliferation and Differentiation documents the proceedings of the 35th symposium of The Society for Developmental Biology entitled "Molecular Control of Proliferation and Differentiation," held at Asilomar, Monterey Peninsula, California, June 8-11, 1976. The contributions made by researchers at the symposium are organized into seven parts. Part I presents a paper on cell communication in embryological development. Part II includes studies on growth factors, including fibroblast growth factor and epidermal growth factor. Part III examines the factors affecting nerve cell differentiation and function. It includes papers on nerve growth factor and peptides as central nervous system neurotransmitters. Part IV focuses on cell interactions in blood cell development. It includes studies on factors affecting the differentiation of blood cells and the proliferation of hemopoietic stem cells in vitro. Part V examines cell interactions in the immune system. Part VI deals with cell interactions in organogenesis. Part VII covers the factors effecting differentiation in lower eukaryotes.

This book, first published in 1990, provides an overview of the events and mechanisms of morphogenesis.

Developmental Regulation: Aspects of Cell Differentiation draws together some studies which are directed toward the orderly changes in cell phenotypes that are understood to be developmental in nature. Organized into nine chapters, the book begins with a concise overview of the studies on molecular synthesis during early development. It then addresses the developmental regulation in cotton seed embryogenesis and germination; relation of hormonal regulation to the possible control of RNA and protein biosynthesis; transitions in differentiation by the cellular slime molds; and interrelationships of genes, enzymes, structures, and phenotypes in morphogenesis. It also explains the colony differentiation in green algae; cytology of developing vertebrate skeletal muscle; some comparative aspects of cardiac and skeletal myogenesis; and differentiation of cartilage in the limb.

Molecular and Cellular Approaches to the Control of Proliferation and Differentiation focuses on molecular and cellular approaches used to control cell proliferation and differentiation. This book discusses the basic mechanisms involved in the regulation of cell growth, emphasizing the coupling of proliferation and the progressive expression of several specific cellular phenotypes. This text is organized into three sections encompassing 12 chapters and begins with an introduction to cell proliferation and how it is regulated by growth factors and nuclear protooncogenes in cell proliferation. The book then discusses mitosis and its investigation by means of the cell biological, genetic, biochemical, and immunological approaches, along with the model for mitotic regulation. The next chapters examine the manner in which cell structure is involved in the selective expression of genes associated with proliferation and differentiation and, how gene expression in response modulates both intracellular (nuclear matrix and cytoskeleton) and extracellular (extracellular matrix) architecture. The extent to which common signaling mechanisms and regulatory events are operative in the control of proliferation and differentiation is also addressed. The book concludes by analyzing the involvement of histone modifications in the condensation of mitotic chromosomes. This book is of interest to advanced undergraduate students, as well as to graduate students and researchers in genetics, cell biology, biological chemistry, microbiology, and immunology.

Man's mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions Oliver Wendell Holmes Our current understanding of sex and biological differentiation results from the application of three principal experimental approaches to these subjects: those of the physiologist, the biochemist, and the geneticist. These three approaches are illustrated by the materials presented in the chapters of this volume. Chapters 1-5 emphasize conceptualization of developmental processes, describing systems principally from the standpoint of the physiologist. Structures and functions are defined with only occasional reference to specific molecular details. Chapters 6- 10 present the views of the biochemist, attempting to describe functions influ encing or regulating cellular behavior at the molecular level. And Chapters 11- 14 illustrate the approaches of the modem-day geneticist in his attempts to gain a detailed understanding of processes controlling gene expression. While it is possible to delineate these three major sections, each emphasizing a distinct experimental approach, it must be realized that the yield of knowledge increases exponentially with the number of experimental approaches available to the investigator. Information resulting from the application of each of these approaches must converge to give the same answers for anyone biological phenomenon in anyone experimental system. Further, if we can learn of details regarding a particular process by applying different experimental approaches, our postulates concerning the underlying molecular mechanisms are likely to be more accurate. But biological systems are not unrelated.