Lipid Second Messengers provides detailed methodology for analysis of various lipid signaling pathways. Authoritative contributors explain the factors that regulate lipid second messenger production by agonist-activated enzymes and examine their products. Topics discussed include procedures used to measure lipid-derived mediators such as lysophospholipids, arachidonic acid, eicosanoids, anandamide, and ceramides, and the enzymes responsible for generating these messengers, such as phospholipases, prostaglandin endoperoxide synthases, and sphingomyelinase.

Lipid Second Messengers provides detailed methodology for analysis of various lipid signaling pathways. Authoritative contributors explain the factors that regulate lipid second messenger production by agonist-activated enzymes and examine their products. Topics discussed include procedures used to measure lipid-derived mediators such as lysophospholipids, arachidonic acid, eicosanoids, anandamide, and ceramides, and the enzymes responsible for generating these messengers, such as phospholipases, prostaglandin endoperoxide synthases, and sphingomyelinase.

Since the publication of my previous monograph in 1974, important progress has been made in the broad area of calcium research, partic ularly as it pertains to secretory phenomena. The significant advance in methodology, while widening the scope of our knowledge, has caused research in this particular area to become more and more specialized. It has, therefore, become increasingly difficult for researchers to consider and evaluate work outside their own areas of specialization and to com prehend the field from a broad perspective. While many valuable re views on the importance of calcium in cellular function are being pro duced, they have not attempted to pull together all of the existing knowledge into a more general narrative. This volume brings together experimental data and theories from diverse sources, and attempts to synthesize into a broad conceptual framework the massive amount of specialized information that presently exists in the general area of cal cium metabolism and the secretory process. It is impossible in a book of this length to discuss specific references in detail and still maintain readability, so generalizations must be made.

This volume is based in part upon the proceedings of the Calcium Theme held during the 67th Annual Meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, which took place in Chicago, AprillO-lS, 1983. The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics had the primary responsibility for organizing the scientific program with the assistance of other member societies, including the American Physiology Society, American Association of Pathologists, and American Institute of Nutrition. The purpose of the Calcium Theme was to review progress in the diverse areas of investigation bearing on the ubiquitous role of calcium in biological systems. In addition to contributions from those participating in the Theme, this volume also includes a number of invited papers that were added to fill certain voids in topics covered. The authors were selected because they are investigators active in the mainstream of their particular research area, possessing the acumen to analyze cogently not only their own recent findings but also to relate these findings to their respective area. New information as well as reviews of current concepts generally highlight the individual contributions. Undoubtedly, some readers may argue with the emphasis made and/or the conclusions reached on individual topics. In such cases, other volumes will hopefully provide a forum for alternative points of view. Due to the broad scope of subjects covered and the large number of contributions, the papers have been arranged in three sections.