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Obesity and diabetes develop as a complex result of genetic, metabolic and environmental factors and are characterized by increased lipogenesis and lipid accumulation in many tissues. Stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) genes are a critical regulator of lipogenesis and catalyzes the synthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), mainly oleoyl- (18:1n9) and palmitoleoyl-CoA (16:1n7). These MUFAs are the major fatty acid substrates for the synthesis of triglycerides, cholesterol esters, wax esters and membrane phospholipids. There are 4 SCD isoforms (SCD1-4) in mice and two (hSCD1 and hSCD5) expressed in humans. At first glance, stearoyl-CoA desaturase enzyme would be considered a housekeeping enzyme because it synthesizes oleate a well-known fatty acid that is abundant in many dietary sources. However numerous studies have shown that SCD is a very highly regulated enzyme that features in so many physiological processes ranging from fat differentiation, carbohydrate and fat metabolism, inflammation and cancer. The editor's studies using stearoyl-CoA desaturase knockout (SCD1-/-) mice and studies of other investigators using pharmacological approaches to reduce SCD1 expression in mouse tissues have all established that the expression of SCD1 gene isoform represents a key step in partitioning of lipids between storage and oxidation. High SCD expression favors fat storage leading to obesity while reduced SCD expression favors fat burning and leanness. Although these studies clearly illustrated that SCD1 expression is involved in the development of obesity and insulin resistance, questions remain in the elucidation of the mechanisms involved and role of SCD1. This book includes chapters by leading researchers on SCD Genes in the brain, heart, muscle, liver metabolism, Colitis, and more. ​

In this book a distinguished scientist-historian offers a critical account of how biochemistry and molecular biology emerged as major scientific disciplines from the interplay of chemical and biological ideas and practice. Joseph S. Fruton traces the historical development of these disciplines from antiquity to the present time, examines their institutional settings, and discusses their impact on medical, pharmaceutical, and agricultural practice.

Structure and Function of Collagen Types is a collection of articles that reviews the different types of collagens (Type I to XI). Each article focuses on a particular type of collagen and written by leading investigators in the collagen field. The book begins with a review of the fibril forming collagens (types I, II, and III) and traces the early work on the structure of these collagens to our knowledge of the structure of the collagen genes. This chapter is followed by a detailed description of type IV (basement membrane) collagen. Chapter 3 addresses the biosynthesis and chain assembly of type V collagen. The evidence that type VI collagen is assembled to form tetramers is presented in chapter 4. The subsequent article shows that type VII collagens are assembled to form partially overlapping dimers. Chapter 6 presents the structure of type VIII collagen. Chapters 7, 8, and 9 discuss the structure and characteristics of collagens that are synthesized by cartilaginous tissues and these are designated as type IX, type X, and type XI. The final chapter reviews the recombinant DNA techniques used to investigate collagen structure and the possibility to recognize new collagen types from a cDNA library. Physiologists, cell biologists, and researchers in the field of collagen will find the text very insightful.