R. Greger - Böcker

In this volume of Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology there a contributions by M.D. Swope, E. Lolis, F.Hofmann, L. Lacinova, N. Klugbauer, M. Hermann, P. Berger, S.S. Shen, J.S. Kim, M.E. Weksler, M. Hirsch-Kauffmann and M.Schweiger.

In this volume of Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology there a contributions by M.D. Swope, E. Lolis, F.Hofmann, L. Lacinova, N. Klugbauer, M. Hermann, P. Berger, S.S. Shen, J.S. Kim, M.E. Weksler, M. Hirsch-Kauffmann and M. Schweiger.

This book is a collection of reviews on the renal transport of organic substances. The first chapters deal with general aspects of the topic. The following articles treat the present knowledge on the renal trans­ port of specific compounds or classes of organic substances, whereas the fmal chapter on comparative physiology deals with the renal trans­ port of organic substances in non-mammalian vertebrates. The articles of this volume were presented in an abbreviated form as introductory lectures at a recent Symposium on Renal Transport of Organic Substances. This conference was organized by Prof. Deetjen and the editors, and was held in Innsbruck, Austria, in July 1980 at the Department of Physiology of the University of Innsbruck. During this conference the authors of the free communications (published as abstracts ill Renal Physiology, 2 (3), pp 135-166 (1980) as well as Drs. C. Gottschalk, T. Hoshi, K.C. Huang, J.P. Kokko, Ch. de Rouffignac, K. Scharer, BM. Schmidt-Nielsen, and J.A. Young, who acted as chair­ persons at the meeting, were invaluable contributors to the discussions of the topics reviewed in this volume. We hope that the book will be of value to nephrologists, to renal physiologists, and to those who are involved in teaching physiology, pharmacology, and internal medicine.

After the pioneering studies by Ussing and co-workers, studies of epithelial Nael transport have come a long way. The first phase of the phenomenological description of the cell as a black box has been follow­ ed by studies of cellular mechanisms, the interplay of the different trans­ port components, and the mechanisms of regulation. A broad spectrum of methods has been applied to many epithelia in a variety of species. For the individual epithelia transport schemes have been proposed, and, at this point I think it is appropriate to take a pause and search for elements common to several epithelia. This aspect triggered the publica­ tion of this book, and in fact the various chapters emphasize that the funetional eomponents, expressed in the various epithelia, are not in­ finite in number, but they occur in epithelia which are separated in evolu­ tion by several hundred million years. The authors come both from the field of veterinary and human physiology as weIl as from biology. In my opinion, the close contacts and eollaborations between physiologists and biologists have been essential for the progress in this field. I wish to thank all authors for their con­ tributions, and I hope that the reader will appreciate this collection of up to date reviews on epithelia in nonvertebrates and vertebrates.

In the series Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology three excellent contributions by Ruth Heidelberger (Houston, TX, USA) with Electrophysiological Approaches to the Study of Neuronal Exocytosis and Synaptic Vesicle Dynamics and Kay Truscott et al. (Freiburg, Germany) with Transport of Proteins Into Mitochondria and Randall K. Powers and Marc D. Binder (Seattle, WA, USA) with Input-Output Functions of Mammalian Motoneurons form another outstanding volume.

The objectives in this special issue are (1) to critically review current information on the mechanisms coupling extracellular regulatory signals to regulation of cross-bridge cycling and proliferation in smooth muscle, and (2) identify significant gaps or unresolved issues that are important topics for future research. The experimental and analytical difficulties discussed above are increasingly recognized and surmounted. Elucidation of the molecular and cellular events underlying the biologal properties of smooth muscle is in the midst of a period of rapid progress. While the reviews reveal many gaps to be filled and illustrate areas of contention, they also capture the excitement of new discoveries.

This special volume provides up-to-date information on research dealing with the regulation of the biosynthesis and degradation of cyclic GMP and with the regulation of physiological systems by cyclic GMP. The publication of this volume could not have come at a more appropriate time, with significant work in this area having led to our current understanding of the role of nitric oxide in signal transduction, and the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology for Furchgott, Murad and Ignarro.Moreover, the introduction in early 1998 of sildenafil (Viagra), a selective inhibitor of a cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase, for the treatment of erectile dysfunction in men represents the first successful therapeutic application of an agent designed to alter the activity of a molecular target in a cyclic GMP pathway.