Book Description:
Apoptosis is the regulated form of cell death. It is a complex process defined by a set of characteristic morphological and biochemical features that involves the active participation of affected cells in a self-destruction cascade. This programmed cell death plays a critical role in physiological functions such as cell deletion during embryonic development, balancing cell number in continuously renewing tissues and immune system development. Additionally, a dysregulation of apoptosis is underlying in numerous pathological situations such as Parkinson, Alzheimer´s disease and cancer. A number of studies have pointed out an association between consumption of fruits and vegetables, and certain beverages such as tea and wine, which are rich in polyphenols, with reduced risk of chronic diseases, including cancer. Apoptosis is also the regulatory mechanism involved in the removal of unnecessary cells during development and in tissue homeostasis in a wide range of organisms from insects to mammals. This new book focuses on cell apoptotic signalling.

Table of Contents:
Preface

Commentary A - Trends in Apoptosis Research in Hematology; pp. 1-3 (Fabio Timeus)

Commentary B - Development of Sepsis Therapeutics and Molecular Diagnostics; pp. 5-6
(Anand Kumar, Univ. of Manitoba, Canada and Aseem Kumar, Laurentian Univ., Canada

Commentary C - Apoptosis During Pregnancy; pp. 7-22
(Aggleiki Kolialexi, George Th Tsangaris and Adriani Mavrou, Athens Univ., Greece)

Commentary D - Cell Apoptosis; pp. 23-24
(Svetlana Zunic)

Commentary E - Cell Apoptosis; pp. 25-26
(Marija Kastelan)

Chapter I - Understanding the Molecular Pathways for Renal Tubular Epithelial Cell Apoptosis; pp. 27-57
(Ana B. Sanz, Juan A. Moreno and Alberto Ortiz, Univ. Autónoma de Madrid, Spain)

Chapter II - Multisite Phosphorylation of the cAMP Response Element-Binding Protein (CREB) by a Diversity of Protein Kinases; pp. 59-90 (Mona Johannessen and Ugo Moens, Univ. of Tromsø, Norway)

Chapter III - Molecular Pathogenesis of Influenza Virus Infection: Apoptosis Induction and Microphage Activation; pp. 91-128
(Noboru Uchide and Hiroo Toyoda)

Chapter IV - TNF Signaling Cascades Cell Death and Survival;
pp. 129-157
(Shunichi Kumakara and Hiroto Ishikura, Shimane Univ., Japan)

Chapter V - Profilin: From Allergen to Tumor Suppressor; pp. 159-184 (Surya S. Singh, K.V.N. Radhika and Wasia Rizwani et al., Osmania Univ., India)

Chapter VI - Yeast Therapy for the Treatment of Cancer and its Enhancement by MGN-3/Biobran, an Arabinoxylan Rice Bran; pp. 185-200 (M. Ghoneum and J. Brown, Charles R. Drew Univ. of Medicine and Science, USA and S. Gollapudi, Univ. of California, USA)

Chapter VII - Nuclear Calcium Signalling: The Nuclear Envelope Store and the Regulation of Transcription; pp. 201-219
(Carlos Escande, Paula Arbildi, Insituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Uruguay and Eduardo Chini et al., Mayo Clinic, USA)

Chapter VIII - The signaling network of Ras family and Rho family GTP-binding proteins in mammalian cells; pp. 221-246
(Takaya Satoh, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan)

Index