hf. J. Biochem. Vol. 26, No. 4, pp.
601605, 1994
Pergamon 0020-71 lX(93)EOOWK
BOOK
Principles of Biochemistry-H. R. HORTON,L. A. MORAN,R.
S. OCHS,J. D. RAWNand K. G. SCRIMGEOLJR. 680 pp. 1993.
Neil Patterson/Prentice Hall, N.J. Paperback f27.95.
This text is designed for students taking a 1 year course in
Biochemistry. It has tried to keep to the “essential” infor-
mation and ideas, so as not to overload the student. At the
same time it contains detailed information that the student
may be required to refer to. It is up to date, clearly presented
with many color stero diagrams of structures (a stereoviewer
comes with each copy of the text). The student is made
aware of the important point of each section within a
chapter, since it is presented in bold type. (They are also
listed in the Contents.) Each chapter has a summary and
suggestions for further reading. The text is very readable
and many students will find this a good textbook.
Enzyme Kinetics; Behavior and Analysis of Rapid Equilibrium
and Steady State Enzyme Systems-l. H. SEGAL.
957~~. Reprinted 1993. Wiley, New York. Paperback
f39.95.
This reprint of Segal’s “Enzyme Kinetics” is as one of the
“Wiley Classics Library”. The book deals with: enzymes as
biological catalysts; kinetics of unireactant enzymes; simple
inhibition systems; rapid equilibrium partial and mixed-type
inhibition; enzymic activation; rapid equilibrium bireactant
and trireactant systems; multisite and allosteric enzymes;
multiple inhibition analysis; steady state kinetics of multire-
actant enzymes; isotope exchange; effects of pH and tem-
perature. The treatment is rigorous, mathematical and very
thorough. The reader is taken step by step through the
analyses so that the systems can be followed and under-
stood. A very useful reprint.
Enzymes of Molecular Biology-Edited by M. M. BURRELL. Molecular Chaperones-Edited
Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol. 10. 370 pp. 1993. Hu- and G. H. LORIMER. 121 pp. 1993. Chapman & Hall,
London. E39.50.
mana Press, N.J. Paperback $49.50.
Many enzymes are used as agents in experiments and this
book provides practical information for each enzyme about
its source, applications, size and structure of the protein, pH
specificity, ionic strength, activators, inhibitors, K,,,, etc. The
enzymes described include nucleases, DNAse 1 and 11,DNA
polymerases and methyltransferases, Taq polymerases, re-
verse transcriptase, transferase, restriction enzymes, DNA
and RNA ligases, BAL 31 nucleases, RNase A, pronase,
proteolytic enzymes, proteinase K, carboxpeptidase Y,
aminopeptidases, alkaline phophatase, and polynucleotide
kinase. A very useful practical reference book.
Handbook of Enzyme Inhibitors Second EditioeH. ZOLL-
NER. Revised and enlarged in two volumes. 1993.
1065 pp. VCH Publishers, Weinheim, Germany. DM525.
The first edition of this handbook sold out and had to be
Elsevier Science Ltd. Printed in Great Britain
REVIEWS
reprinted and the reprint has sold out. This provided the
impetus for the production of a new edition. In Volume A
the data is presented Enzyme-tlnhibitors. The Enzymes are
listed alphabetically with their EC number. The inhibitors
are listed, with the type of inhibition, effective inhibitor
concentration (K, values), comments and references. In
Volume B the inhibitors are listed alphabetically with the
enzymes they affect, the type of inhibition, and the K, values.
The common names of the inhibitors are given with their
respective systematic names. Thus in volume A the enzyme
ATP citrate (pro-3s) lyase has the EC number 4.1.3.8. The
inhibitors are listed as ADP, 2-hydroxycitric acid, (-)
hydroxycitrate, and phosphate. The inhibition is competi-
tive, and the K, for ADP is 171 PM. The Handbook lists
more than 8000 different inhibitors for about 2000 enzymes.
Over 15,000 enzyme-inhibitor interactions are tabulated.
There is three times as much data in this new edition. It will
prove to be even more useful than the previous edition.
Advances in Enzyme Regulation Vol. 3sEdited by G. WE-
BER.345 pp. 1993. Pergamon Press, Oxford. E235.
The reviews in this book are over a wider range than would
be indicated by the book’s title; chemotherapy and resist-
ance [cytotoxic action of mitomycin antibiotics, glutathione
and cellular resistance to alkylating agents, chemotherapy
resistance to alkylating agents in HIV] control of deoxycy-
tidine kinase; regulation of glucose metabolism; enzymes as
targets, mitogenic signaling and enzymology; functions of
proteasomes and peroxisomes; reaction mechanisms; con-
trol of adenine nucleotides and nucleoside transport; mol-
ecular cloning, suppression of RAS and malignancy; lithium
increases accumulation of lP3 in brain cortex slices.
by R. J. ELLIS,R. A. LASKY
The formation of the folded protein structure in the cell is
not spontaneous. Molecular chaperones (C) play a role in
the assembly, interaction and transport of protein subunits.
The C are important in protein transport across membranes,
assembly and disassembly of oligomeric structures, and the
recovery or removal of proteins damaged by environmental
stresses. The topics reviewed in this book are: the role of
nucleoplasmin; C and DNA replication; heat shock proteins
are C; C and protein folding; C from Thermus thermophilus;
the C hsp60 and TFSS-TCPl; C and protein transport in the
endoplasmic reticulum; C and bacterial protein export; C
and protein targeting to mitochondria; C and the immune
response; tumour suppressor genes and C.
Protein Biotechnology; Isolation Characterization and Stabil-
Ization-Edited by F. FRANKS.592 pp. 1993. Humana Press,
N.J. $89.50 (Export $99.50).
601
602 Book Reviews

Many proteins are very easily denatured and care has to be Photosynthesis; Molecular, Physiological and Environmental
taken in their use. This book provides much of the essential Processes. Second Edition-D. W. LAWTON. 318 pp. 1993.
information. It deals with: in vitro characterization; analyti- Longman. Paperback f 19.99.
cal chromatography; internal structure and organization;
solution properties; posttranslational processing; fragmen- The first edition of this book was published in 1987 and
tation; peptide sequence determination; electrophoretic reprinted in 1990. This new edition deals with the major
technique; production and application of polyclonal and topics; light, the driving force in photosynthesis (P); energy
monoclonal antibodies; conformational stability; hydration; capture in P; the P apparatus; electron and proton trans-
recombinant protein technology; storage stabilization, and port; synthesis of ATP; chemistry of P; metabolism of P
process purification. Proteins such as interferons, blood products; C4-P and CAM; molecular biology of P; carbon
factors, hormones, etc. are becoming more available on a dioxide supply; P by leaves; plant P production. The infor-
commercial scale and this volume will be useful to workers mation has been brought up to date and the new material
involved in processing such proteins. includes: the crystalization of the P reaction centre of purple
bacteria and high resolution X-ray analysis of the structure
A Practical Guide to Protein and Peptide Purification for resulting in increased understanding of the primary events
Microsequencing. Second Edition-Edited by P. MATSU- in P; the X-ray analysis of ribulose biphosphate carboxy-
DAIRA. 184~~. 1993. Academic Press, San Diego. lase-oxygenase; the genetic mapping of chloroplast DNA
and the location of the genes for chloroplast constituents;
global climate changes and the increased levels of carbon
The first edition was concerned with the question “How can
dioxide in the atmosphere.
I obtain the N-terminal sequence?’ This second edition is
concerned with “How can I obtain useful sequence infor- Protein Phosphorylation; a Practical Approach-Edited by
mation?” The topics deal with; obtaining partial sequences D. G. HARDY. 300 pp. 1993. IRL/Oxford University Press.
from < 500 pmol of protein; enzymic digestion and HPLC Hardback $59.
peptide isolation; purification by SDS-PAGE; sequence
analysis after in situ protease digestion on nitrocellulose; Protein phosphorylation (PP) is the major mechanism by
MS characterization; sequences of commonly used which cells respond to extracellular signals such as hor-
preoteases. There is also an updated reference list. mones and growth factors. It is also responsible for the
timing of events which must occur at defined stages in the
RNA Editing; The Alteration of Protein Coding Sequences of cell cycle such as DNA synthesis and mitosis. PP is catalysed
RNA-Edited by R. BENNE. 196 pp. 1993. Ellis Horwood, by protein kinases and reversed by protein phosphorylases.
Chichester, U.K. f39.95. This book deals with: PP in intact cells; phosphopeptide
mapping and phosphoamino acid analysis on cellulose thin
The four uridines in mitochondrial transcript for the cyto- layer plates; analysis of sites phosphorylated in uipo and
chrome oxidase subunit 2 in Trypanosomes are not encoded in u&-o; use of serine/thronine kinase activators and inhibi-
in the DNA. The RNAs are edited by massive transcrip- tors to study PP in intact cells; use of PP inhibitors in intact
tional U-insertions and U-deletions. This book deals with cells; purification of mammalian serine/threonone kinases;
RNA editing in mitochondria of: Trypanosomes, Leishma- purification of tyrosine kinases; identification of cDNAs
nia, and Physarium polycephalum; RNA editing of that encode protein kinases; assay and purification of
paramyxovirus P gene mRNA; mammalian apoliporotein B serine/threonine phosphatases; characterization of tyrosine
mRNA; RNA in plant organelles; double stranded RNA phosphatases; identification of serine/threonine phospha-
adenosine deaminase-a potential agent for RNA editing? tase genes in yeast, Drosophila and Man; protein
The editing signals may allow the production of more kinase/phosphatase specificity using synthetic peptides. A
than one protein by one gene, allow greater compactness, better understanding of activators and inhibitors of PP
allow the removal of frame shifts, the creation of stop/start systems will provide the basis for new drugs that can be used
codons, and multiple codon changes. The genetic code is in cancer therapy.
very complex and subtle but that is to be expected after
about a billion years of development! Aspects of Synaptic Transmission; ACh, Sigma Receptors,
CCK, Eicosanoids and Neurotoxins-Edited by T. W. STONE.
255 pp. 1993. Taylor & Francis. f45.
Asymmetric Synthesis of Natural Products-A. KOSKINEN.
234~~. 1993. Wiley, Chichester, U.K. Paperback f16.95.
This is the published proceedings of the second Kelvin
Conference. The subjects reviewed are: neuronal muscarinic
Most natural products are chiral and many are also asym- receptor subtypes; cholinergic pathways in the CNS; cholin-
metric. This book deals with: chirality, topology and asym- ergic neurones and memory: nicotinic cholinergic stimu-
metric compounds; asymmetric synthesis [carbonyl carbon, lation in animal models of behaviour; sigma receptors
enolates, olefins]; carbohydrates; amino acids, peptides and [receptors for benzomorphans]; CCK-A and CCK-B in
proteins; nucleosides, nucleotides and nucleic acids; polyke- analgesia; CCK receptors; neuronal release of arachidonic
tides; isoprenoids; shikimic acid derivatives; alkaloids. It acid; presynaptic toxins [TTX, conotoxins, scorpion toxins.
gives good insight into the nature of the problems in anemone toxins, dendrotoxins, bee venom, phospholipase
such syntheses and the structural chemistry of many import- A2, apamin, scyllatoxin]; alpha latrotoxin; spider toxin and
ant compounds. The reader will get a much better under- glutamate receptors; maitotoxin and calcium homeostasis.
standing of the structural relationship of many important
drugs and natural products. It also has interesting asides Opioids I and II-Edited by A. HERZ. Handbook of Exper-
such as “The aroma of sunburnt beer is structurally related imental Pharmacology Vol. 104, parts I and II. Opioids I.
to the odor substances of North American skunk and cat’s 815 pp. 1993. Springer, Berlin. DM580. Opioids II
urine”. 840 pp. 1993. Springer, Berlin. DM580.