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The Comprehensive Sourcebook of Bacterial Protein Toxins, Fourth Edition, contains chapters written by internationally known and well-respected specialists. This book contains chapters devoted to individual toxins, as well as chapters that consider the different applications of these toxins. Considerable progress has been made in understanding the structure, function, interaction and trafficking into cells, as well as mechanism of action of toxins. Bacterial toxins are involved in the pathogenesis of many bacteria, some of which are responsible for severe diseases in human and animals, but can also be used as tools in cell biology to dissect cellular processes or used as therapeutic agents. Novel recombinant toxins are already proposed in the treatment of some diseases, as well as new vaccines. Alternatively, certain toxins are also considered as biological weapons or bioterrorism threats. Given the multifaceted aspects of toxin research and the multidisciplinary approaches adopted, toxins are of great interest in many scientific areas from microbiology, virology, cell biology to biochemistry and protein structure. This new edition is written with a multidisciplinary audience in mind and contains 5 new chapters that reflect the latest research in this area. Other chapters have been combined, deleted and fully revised as necessary to deliver relevant and valuable content. - Descriptions of relevant toxins as well as representative toxins of the main bacterial toxin families to allow for a better comparison between them - Focused chapters on toxin applications and common properties or general features of toxins

The present volume originated from the workshop'Transduction in Biological Sys­ tems,'held at the Marine Biological Station of the Universidad de Valparaiso, Mon­ temar, Chile, May 23-30, 1988, and contains contributions from most of the partici­ pants in the workshop. The title of both the workshop and the book reflects accurately the central theme discussed during several days of intense debate and profound intellectual exchange in the peaceful environment offered by the central coast of Chile. It was apparent that the workshop was a great success-a sentiment expressed by many seasoned attendees, some of whom dared opinions as strong as'It was the best ever.'There is no single reason to explain why this workshop was so successful. Certainly instrumental was the incredible effort displayed by the Chilean Organizing Committee in selecting adequate facilities and in organizing social events that supplemented the scien­ tific sessions and provided an authentic fraternal environment for the participants. Equally important were the foreign participants, who enthusiastically gave of their time to take part in the event, and the students, who came from Chile as well as from several other Latin American countries, and who applied the necessary pressure in their repeated demands for scientific clarity, accuracy, and sincerity.

Alcohol abuse ranks among the most common and also the most severe environmental hazards to human health. Its significance is heightened by the possibility of prevention by elimination of the habit, however, rarely exerted. The incidence of deleterious effects on human health has relentlessly risen in the past years for a variety of factors. They include migration of populations and, particularly, increased urbanization. Thus, in some parts of the world, population groups previously spared have become involved, which is also re­ flected in the increasing number of breweries and distilleries in the developing countries. Social, religious, and gender-related barriers to alcohol consumption are loosening, and the financial improvement of some segments of populations now enable them to buy alcoholic beverages. Thus the greatest percentage rise in the United States has recently been in black women. Adolescents and young people drink more alcoholic beverages than ever, and growing alcohol abuse by pregnant women has let to an increase of the incidence of the fetal alcohol syndrome. While the social and behavioral, including psychiatric, consequences of alcoholism are staggering, the gastrointestinal and, particularly, hepatic manifestations are the most widespread somatic effects, and chronic hepatic disease in alcoholics appears to cause the greatest cost to society. Indeed, mortality from liver cirrhosis is considered a reliable index of alcohol consumption in a country.

Hepatic cells are involved in the metabolization and elimination of a variety of endogenous and exogenous substances. They mediate the uptake, processing and subsequent secretion of biliary compounds, such as various drugs or hormones, and the passage of metabolites to be released into different blood compartments. To perform vectorial passages hepatocytes show a strong polarity with sites for endocytotic processes or specific carrier molecules, and a specified system of organelles for intracellular transport and sorting, metabolization and secretion of compounds. Several aspects, e.g. regulation, control and mechanisms of hepatic traffic are reported in detail - complemented by methodological approaches to analyse and monitor these processes.

This book was stimulated by the enthusiasm shown by attendees at the meetings in Saxon River, VT, sponsored by the Federation ofAmerican Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), on the subject of the intestinal processing of lipids. When these meetings were first started in 1990, the original organizers, two of whom are editors ofthis volume (CMM and PT), had two major goals. The first was to bring together a diverse group ofinvestiga­ tors who had the common goal of gaining a better understanding of how the intestine ab­ sorbs lipids. The second was to stimulate the interest of younger individuals whom we wished to recruit into what we believed was an exciting and fruitful area ofresearch. Since that time, the field has opened up considerably with new questions being asked and new an­ swers obtained, suggesting that our original goals for the meetings were being met. In the same spirit, it occurred to us that there has not been a recentbook that draws to­ gethermuch ofthe informationavailableconcerninghow the intestineprocesses lipids. This book is intended to reach investigators with an interest in this area and their pre- and post­ doctoral students. The chapters are written by individuals who have a long-term interest in the areas about which they write, and many have been speakers at the subsequent FASEB conferences that have followed on the first.

This book describes the major achievements and discoveries relevant to bacterial protein toxins since the turn of the new century illustrated by the discovery of more than fifty novel toxins (many of them identified through genome screening). The establishment of the three-dimensional crystal structure of more than 20 toxins during the same period offers deeper knowledge of structure-activity relationships and provides a framework to understand how toxins recognize receptors, penetrate membranes and interact with and modify intracellular substrates. - Edited by two of the most highly regarded experts in the field from the Institut Pasteur, France - 14 brand new chapters dedicated to coverage of historical and general aspects of toxinology - Includes the major toxins of both basic and clinical interest are described in depth - Details applied aspects of toxins such as therapy, vaccinology, and toolkits in cell biology - Evolutionary and functional aspects of bacterial toxins evaluated and summarized - Toxin applications in cell biology presented - Therapy (cancer therapy, dystonias) discussed - Vaccines (native and genetically engineered vaccines) featured - Toxins discussed as biological weapons, comprising chapters on anthrax, diphtheria, ricin etc.

Carbohydrate Chemistry provides review coverage of all publications relevant to the chemistry of monosaccharides and oligosaccharides in a given year. The amount of research in this field appearing in the organic chemical literature is increasing because of the enhanced importance of the subject, especially in areas of medicinal chemistry and biology. In no part of the field is this more apparent than in the synthesis of oligosaccharides required by scientists working in glycobiology. Clycomedicinal chemistry and its reliance on carbohydrate synthesis is now very well established, for example, by the preparation of specific carbohydrate- based antigens, especially cancer-specific oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates. Coverage of topics such as nucleosides, amino-sugars, alditols and cyclitols also covers much research of relevance to biological and medicinal chemistry. Each volume of the series brings together references to all published work in given areas of the subject and serves as a comprehensive database for the active research chemist Specialist Periodical Reports provide systematic and detailed review coverage in major areas of chemical research. Compiled by teams of leading authorities in the relevant subject areas, the series creates a unique service for the active research chemist, with regular, in-depth accounts of progress in particular fields of chemistry. Subject coverage within different volumes of a given title is similar and publication is on an annual or biennial basis.

Carbohydrate Chemistry provides review coverage of all publications relevant to the chemistry of monosaccharides and oligosaccharides in a given year. The amount of research in this field appearing in the organic chemical literature is increasing because of the enhanced importance of the subject, especially in areas of medicinal chemistry and biology. In no part of the field is this more apparent than in the synthesis of oligosaccharides required by scientists working in glycobiology. Clycomedicinal chemistry and its reliance on carbohydrate synthesis is now very well established, for example, by the preparation of specific carbohydrate- based antigens, especially cancer-specific oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates. Coverage of topics such as nucleosides, amino-sugars, alditols and cyclitols also covers much research of relevance to biological and medicinal chemistry. Each volume of the series brings together references to all published work in given areas of the subject and serves as a comprehensive database for the active research chemist Specialist Periodical Reports provide systematic and detailed review coverage in major areas of chemical research. Compiled by teams of leading authorities in the relevant subject areas, the series creates a unique service for the active research chemist, with regular, in-depth accounts of progress in particular fields of chemistry. Subject coverage within different volumes of a given title is similar and publication is on an annual or biennial basis.

This handbook, published to mark the 20th anniversary of The Amylase Research Society of Japan, presents a concise account of the properties and applications of amylases and related enzymes. Enzymes are discussed with reference to their source, isolation method, properties, inhibition, kinetics and protein structure. This information is then applied in the description and interpretation of their use in industry. As well as amylases, other enzymes capable of catalyzing reactions with starch and glycogen, and the further conversion of amylase reaction products for industrial applications are discussed. The text is supported by numerous explanatory figures and tables, and each section is fully referenced.