International review of cell and molecular biology. V.274 /

Contributors p. vii
1 Roles of Caldesmon in Cell Motility and Actin Cytoskeleton Remodeling Jim Jung-Ching Lin and Yan Li and Robbin D. Eppinga and Qinchuan Wang and Jian-Ping Jin p. 1
1 Introduction p. 2
2 Organization and Regulation of Caldesmon (CALD1) Gene p. 3
3 Structure and Function Study of CaD p. 7
4 CaD and Regulation of Smooth Muscle Contraction p. 24
5 CaD and Regulation of Nonmuscle Cell Motility and Cytoskeleton Dynamics p. 27
6 CaD, Podosomes, and Diseases p. 41
7 Concluding Remarks p. 44
References p. 51
2 Hypothalamic Neural Systems Controlling the Female Reproductive Life Cycle: Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone, Glutamate, and GABA Jacqueline A. Maffucci and Andrea C. Gore p. 69
1 Introduction p. 70
2 The HPG Axis p. 71
3 The Reproductive Life Cycle in Females p. 71
4 Glutamate and the HPG Axis p. 75
5 Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) and the HPG Axis p. 90
6 Glutamate/GABA Interactions p. 108
7 Conclusion p. 113
References p. 113
3 Acquisition of Membrane Polarity in Epithelial Tube Formation: Patterns, Signaling Pathways, Molecular Mechanisms, and Disease Fernando Martin-Belmonte and Alejo E. Rodriguez-Fraticelli p. 129
1 Introduction p. 130
2 Architecture of Polarized Cells in Epithelial Organs p. 131
3 Epithelial Morphogenesis into Tubes p. 141
4 De Novo Formation of Tubes: Conserved Pathways and Molecular Mechanisms p. 144
5 Epithelial Polarity and Disease p. 152
6 Concluding Remarks p. 165
References p. 166
4 Functions of RAB and SNARE Proteins in Plant Life Chieko Saito and Takashi Ueda p. 183
1 Introduction p. 184
2 General Features of Membrane Trafficking and Functions of RABs and SNAREs p. 187
3 Molecular/Cellular Research on Plant RABs and SNAREs p. 200
4 RABs and SNAREs in Higher Order Plant Functions p. 215
5 A Unique Regulatory System in Plants for Endocytic/Vacuolar Transport p. 222
6 Concluding Remarks and Future Issues p. 223
References p. 224
5 Rab Proteins and Their Interaction Partners Angelika Barnekow and Anika Thyrock and Daniel Kessler p. 235
1 Introduction p. 236
2 Rab Proteins p. 242
3 Small GTPases Rab1, Rab6, and Their Effectors p. 257
4 Concluding Remarks p. 265
References p. 265
6 Cubic Membranes: The Missing Dimension of Cell Membrane Organization Zakaria A. Almsherqi and Tomas Landh and Sepp D. Kohlwein and Yuru Deng p. 275
1 Introduction p. 276
2 Cell Membrane Architecture p. 278
3 Cubic Membranes in Nature p. 306
4 Biogenesis of Cubic Membranes p. 312
5 Cubic Membranes: Indicators of Cellular Stress and Disease? p. 319
6 Cubic Membranes: Specific Functions or Innocent Bystanders? p. 321
7 Applications of Cubic Membranes p. 324
8 Concluding Remarks p. 326
References p. 327
Index p. 343