Enrico Garaci - Böcker

This volume is the result of a meeting bringing together many of the leading researchers in the US, Europe, and Asia, to report on advances that have been made in the chemistry, biology, and clinical application of thymosins in health and disease. The thymosins are a family of biologically active peptides with hormone-like properties that were first isolated in 1966. Since that time, significant progress has been made in our understanding of the role of these molecules in immunity and the nature of the physiological processes they regulate. Several of these small peptides, such as thymosin alpha 1 and thymosin beta 4, have been synthesized and shown to have important clinical applications. The physiological processes that these peptides affect include stimulation or suppression of immune responses, regulation of actin dynamics and cell motility, neuroplasticity, repair and remodeling of vessels of the heart and other injured tissues, angiogenesis, and stem cell differentiation.Several of these molecules have also been shown to be useful as molecular markers and as potential diagnostics in areas ranging from cancer and infectious diseases to autoimmune diseases and aging. In addition to reports on advances in basic research, the meeting will also highlight recent translational studies and detail how several of these molecules may play a role in the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and infectious diseases such as hepatitis.NOTE: Annals volumes are available for sale as individual books or as a journal. For information on institutional journal subscriptions, please visit www.blackwellpublishing.com/nyas.ACADEMY MEMBERS: Please contact the New York Academy of Sciences directly to place your order (www.nyas.org). Members of the New York Academy of Science receive full-text access to the Annals online and discounts on print volumes. Please visit http://www.nyas.org/MemberCenter/Join.aspx for more information about becoming a member

This volumes features contributions on the latest advances in the chemistry, biology and clinical applications of the thymosins from leading scientists and clinicians working in the field. The use of chemically defined and synthesized molecules, rather than crude or partially purified extracts has enabled scientists working in this field to acquire definitive information on the molecular biology, immunology and potential clinical applications of this important class of BRMs.  Paper in this volume cover a wide range of topics including: advances  in the structure, design, immunology and molecular biology of thymosin alpha 1 (Tα1), prothymosin alpha (ProTα) and thymosin beta 4 (Tβ4). an exploration of role of the thymosins in cardioprotection, neuroplasticity, stem cells, wound healing, inflammation and angiogenesisclinical applications of Tα1 and other BRMsa look at the current status of translational trials with Tβ4 in areas of wound repair, cardiovascular disease, epidermolysis bullosa and eye injuries.The availability of synthetic thymosins enables both researchers and clinicians to acquire definitive information on the immunology, pharmacology and emerging clinical applications of Tα1 and Tβ4.  Clinicians will be particularly interested in the most recent reports of clinical responses and diagnostic applications. This volume will also be of keen interest to biochemists, pharmacologists, immunologists and other basic scientists interested in acquiring information on the state of the art of the latest purification procedures, the chemical characterization, pharmacokinetics, immunopharmacology, and molecular biology of the thymosins alone or in combination with other BRMs and standard therapies.NOTE: Annals volumes are available for sale as individual books or as a journal. For information on institutional journal subscriptions, please visit www.blackwellpublishing.com/nyas.ACADEMY MEMBERS: Please contact the New York Academy of Sciences directly to place your order (www.nyas.org). Members of the New York Academy of Science receive full-text access to the Annals online and discounts on print volumes. Please visit http://www.nyas.org/MemberCenter/Join.aspx for more information about becoming a member.

The first of two, this volume comprises a collection of papers devoted to the understanding of thymosins—proteins originally isolated from the thymus and possess a unique array of biological properties. Thymosins in Health and Disease I brings together short reviews organized to explore the basic characteristics of these peptides and their hormone-like properties, recent preliminary evidence for their medicinal utility, and a focus on the alpha and beta thymosin families. In particular, Thymosin β4 (Tβ4) holds considerable promise for the treatment of many conditions and diseases. Of note, contributions to this volume include information on the application of thymosins to stem cell differentiation, neurological and cardiovascular regeneration, as well as accounts of thymosins in relation to basic regulatory and cancer cell functions. NOTE: Annals volumes are available for sale as individual books or as a journal. For more information on institutional journal subscriptions, please visit: http://ordering.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/subs.asp?ref=1749-6632&doi=10.111/(ISSN)1749-6632ACADEMY MEMBERS: Please contact the New York Academy of Sciences directly to place your order (www.nyas.org). Members of the New York Academy of Science receive full-text access to Annals online and discounts on print volumes. Please visit http://www.nyas.org/MemberCenter/Join.aspx for more information on becoming a member.

The second of two volumes, Thymosins in Health and Disease II, continues the exploration of the rapidly expanding area of research in thymosins—a family of proteins, with a broad set of biological properties and great clinical potential.  In this volume, papers detail the important therapeutic implications of two thymosins: Thymosin α1 (Tα1) in relation to immunity, infectious diseases, and cancer, and the clinical and preclinical applications of Thymosin (Tβ4) in cardiovascular regeneration and wound healing. In addition, this volume covers some of the most current topics in thymosin research, including nuclear magnetic resonance imaging structural studies of thymosins, thymosin labeling, antibodies in thymosin research, and new methods for thymosin delivery.NOTE: Annals volumes are available for sale as individual books or as a journal. For more information on institutional journal subscriptions, please visit: http://ordering.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/subs.asp?ref=1749-6632&doi=10.111/(ISSN)1749-6632ACADEMY MEMBERS: Please contact the New York Academy of Sciences directly to place your order (www.nyas.org). Members of the New York Academy of Science receive full-text access to Annals online and discounts on print volumes. Please visit http://www.nyas.org/MemberCenter/Join.aspx for more information on becoming a member.

Arachidonic acid metabolites are known to playa regulatory role in a number of biological systems, in which they function as microenviron­ mental hormones and intracellular signal mediators. One of the most exciting areas of research of these compounds is the one that studies the relationship between prostaglandins and tumor cell growth and function. In the last few years there has been an extraordinary evolution of data on prostaglandins (and related compounds) and cancer. This vol­ ume is based on papers presented at the 1986 International Confer­ ence on Prostaglandins and Cancer organized by the Italian National Research Council and the II University of Rome, and held in Rome, Italy, in June, 1986. This Conference brought together oncologists and specialists in the areas of prostaglandin chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, physiology, cellular and molecular biology to overview the actual state of knowledge on the role of eicosanoids in cancer and to focus on the key questions that need to be answered. The picture that comes out of this book describes a very complicated network of interactions between arachidonic acid metabolites and different as­ pects of the complex phenomenon "cancer". Eicosanoids participate in carcinogenesis initiation and promotion, and their relationship with tumor promoters and growth factors is well established. During cancer growth, different prostaglandins can have different roles in the regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation and in metastasis formation; meanwhile evidence is accumulating for a pos­ sible use of some of these compounds as antineoplastic agents.