The Cell Surface Mediator Of Developmental Processes

The Cell Surface: Mediator of Developmental Processes

The Cell Surface: Mediator of Developmental Processes contains the papers presented at the 38th Symposium of the Society for Developmental Biology, held at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada in June 1979. The compendium is divided into three parts. The first part provides a summary of the status of the knowledge about the cell surface, which includes the plasma membrane, its associated cytoskeleton and the variety of surface-associated macromolecules. The second portion focuses on the early development of the cell surface. A wide spectrum of techniques, systems, and results in the study of the cell surface are presented. The last part shows a variety of experimental systems in which the cell surface figures prominently in important developmental events. The results from experiments on plant symbiosis, mammalian teratocarcinomas, adhesion and cell shape, and various extracellular macromolecules are detailed extensively. Cytologists, microbiologists, biologists, and other scientists in allied fields will find the publication very insightful.

The Cell Surface in Embryogenesis and Carcinogenesis

This book covers recent trends in the study of cell surfaces, cell interactions, and cell behavior during selected events in development and cancer. It relates current thrusts in molecular biology to more cellular aspects of these fields and draws parallels between advances in developmental biology, malignant invasiveness, wound healing, and regeneration. The book opens with a discussion of a number of developmental events, stressing the importance of the cell surface and extracellular matrix to morphogenesis, cell locomotion, and invasiveness. Basement membranes are discussed in terms of their activity as substrata for cell movement, barriers to invasion, and their role in epithelial-mesenchymal interactions. These aspects of cell-cell and cell-matrix interaction are directly compared with developmental and neoplastic events, emphasizing the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformations that are common to both of these situations. Other topics discussed include cell surface considerations, cell-cell adhesion, cell-substratum adhesion, as well as a discussion regarding how these topics are relevant to the cell biology of wound healing and regeneration. This book is ideal for researchers and students in biology, cell biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, anatomy, zoology, and medicine.

The Cell Surface