Macro Roles for MicroRNAs in the Life and Death of Neurons
(Research and Perspectives in Neurosciences)
By Bart De Strooper, Yves Christen

• Publisher: Springer
• Number Of Pages: 121
• Publication Date: 2010-01-01
• ISBN-10 / ASIN: 364204297X
• ISBN-13 / EAN: 9783642042973

Product Description:

The discovery of microRNAs has revealed an unexpected and spectacular additional level of fine tuning of the genome and how genes are used again and again in different combinations to generate the complexity that underlies for instance the brain. Since the initial studies performed in C.elegans, we gave gone a far way to begin to understand how microRNA pathways can have an impact on health and disease in human. Although microRNAs are abundantly expressed in the brain, relatively little is known about the multiple functions of these RNA molecules in the nervous system. Nevertheless, we know already that microRNA pathways play major roles in the proliferation, differentiation, function and maintenance of neuronal cells. Several intriguing studies have linked microRNAs as major regulators of the neuronal phenotype, and have implicated specific microRNAs in the regulation of synapse formation and plasticity. Dysfunction of microRNA pathways is also slowly emerging as a potential important contributor to the pathogenesis of major neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimers disease and Parkinsons disease. These novel insights appear to be particular promising for the understanding of the very frequent and badly understood sporadic forms of these diseases as compared to the genetic forms. Thus, the better understanding of the implications of this novel field of molecular biology is crucial for the broad area of neurosciences, from the fundamental aspects to the clinic, and from novel diagnostic to potentially therapeutic applications for severe neurological and maybe psychiatric diseases.

http://www.book4doc.com/62421

http://www.book4doc.com/26259

Physiology and Pathology of chloride transporters and channels in the nervous system: From molecules to diseases
by: F. Javier Alvarez-Leefmans, Eric Delpire

Physiology and Pathology of chloride transporters and channels in the nervous system: From molecules to diseases
By F. Javier Alvarez-Leefmans, Eric Delpire

Publisher: Academic Press
Number Of Pages: 500
Publication Date: 2009-09-11
ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0123743737
ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780123743732

Product Description:
The importance of chloride ions in cell physiology has not been fully recognized until recently, in spite of the fact that chloride (Cl-), together with bicarbonate, is the most abundant free anion in animal cells, and performs or determines fundamental biological functions in all tissues. For many years it was thought that Cl- was distributed in thermodynamic equilibrium across the plasma membrane of most cells. Research carried out during the last couple of decades has led to a dramatic change in this simplistic view. We now know that most animal cells, neurons included, exhibit a non-equilibrium distribution of Cl- across their plasma membranes. Over the last 10 to 15 years, with the growth of molecular biology and the advent of new optical methods, an enormous amount of exciting new information has become available on the molecular structure and function of Cl- channels and carriers. In nerve cells, Cl- channels and carriers play key functional roles in GABA- and glycine-mediated synaptic inhibition, neuronal growth and development, extracellular potassium scavenging, sensory-transduction, neurotransmitter uptake and cell volume control. Disruption of Cl- homeostasis in neurons underlies pathological conditions such as epilepsy, deafness, imbalance, brain edema and ischemia, pain and neurogenic inflammation. This book is about how chloride ions are regulated and how they cross the plasma membrane of neurons. It spans from molecular structure and function of carriers and channels involved in Cl- transport to their role in various diseases.
* The first comprehensive book on the structure, molecular biology, cell physiology, and role in diseases of chloride transporters / channels in the nervous system in almost 20 years
* Chloride is the most abundant free anion in animal cells. THis book summarizes and integrates for the first time the important research of the past two decades that has shown that Cl- channels and carriers play key functional roles in GABA- and glycine-mediated synaptic inhibition, neuronal growth and development, extracellular potassium scavenging, sensory-transduction, neurotransmitter uptake and cell volume control.
* The first book that systematically discusses the result of disruption of Cl- homeostasis in neurons which underlies pathological conditions such as epilepsy, deafness, imbalance, brain edema and ischemia, pain and neurogenic inflammation.
* Spanning topics from molecular structure and function of carriers and channels involved in Cl- transport to their role in various diseases.
* Involves all of the leading researchers in the field.
* INcludes an extensive introductory section that covers basic thermodynamic and kinetics aspects of Cl- transport, as well as current methods for studying Cl- regulation, spanning from fluorescent dyes in single cells to knock-out models to make the book available for a growing population of graduate students and postdocs entering the field.

http://www.book4doc.com/21026
http://www.book4doc.com/52947
http://www.book4doc.com/18589