Encyclopedia of Hormones

The Encyclopedia of Hormones is intended to be a comprehensive reference work on cell regulators in vertebrate animals, insects, and plants. The list of classical hormones which had been discovered and characterized over the interval of 1914-1985 numbered approximately 55; however, as a consequence of the application of modern chemical characterization techniques and molecular biology methodology, this list now exceeds 150 and is still expanding. In addition, enormous strides have been made in our understanding of the detailed actions of hormones and related cell regulators including cytokines, prostaglandins, and growth factors at the molecular and cellular levels. Further, there have been dramatic applications of this new knowledge in the medical arena with respect to both diagnosis and treatment of diseases and, for the plant hormones, in the realm of agricultural biotechnology.
The encyclopedia is intended to serve as a useful and comprehensive source of information spanning all aspects of the general subject of hormones and cell regulators. The Encyclopedia will include about 500 articles that collectively describe hormones from 5 key perspectives. (i) The approximately 150 known hormones; (ii) The cellular and subcellular sites of functioning of the cell regulators (e.g., nucleus, plasma membrane, mitochondrion, etc.); (iii) The major physiological systems in which they are operative (e.g., reproduction, immunology, hematopoiesis, neuroendocrine, digestive, development, etc.); (iv) The many processes of cell regulator mediated signal transduction (e.g., hormone receptors, nuclear signal transduction, second messengers, protein kinases, etc.); and (v) For the vertebrate hormones, the important diseases of deficiency or excess or other instances where there is unusual molecular insight available (e.g., diabetes, vitamin D-resistant rickets, cretinism, testicular feminization, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, etc.). We expect that the encyclopedia will be as useful to the scientific expert concerned with his or her cutting-edge questions as it will be for students and the educated lay public.
The topics to be covered in the Encyclopedia of Hormones fall into fourteen subject domains, each of which has an Associate Editor. The articles of the encyclopedia will be organized in a single alphabetical list, according to title, beginning with the "a" entries and ending with "xyz." it is anticipated that the encyclopedia will be published in three separate volumes.

Features

* The only source available with such comprehensive descriptions of hormones, their receptors, and their mechanisms of action
* Full coverage including vertebrate, invertebrate, and plant hormones
* Includes the chemistry, synthesis, secretion, and biological actions of hormones
* Thorough coverage of signal transduction mechanisms as they relate to hormones
* Contributions from over 500 experts in the study of hormones
* Written to be accesssible to non-endocrinologists

Contents

Apoptosis.
Calcium Signaling.
Cancer Cells and Progrowth/Prosurvival Signaling. Activin Receptor Signaling.
Cytokines and Anterior Pituitary Function.
Eating Disorders.
Fetal-Placental Unit Hormone Production. Gastrointestinal Hormone (GI) Regulated Signal Transduction.
Extracellular Matrix and Follicle Development.
Growth Hormone (GH).
Hypoglycemia in Diabetes.
Insulin Gene Regulation.
Interleukin (IL)-1.
Juvenile Hormone Production: Role of Neuropeptides. Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF).
Nerve Growth Factor (NGF).
Neuroactive Steroids.
Neuropeptide Y (NPY).
Parathyroid Hormone.
Sex Hormones and the Immune System.
Stem Cell Factor.
Stress and Reproduction.
Thyroid and Reproduction.
Type-1 Diabetes.
Vasopressin (AVP).
Vitamin D Deficiency, Rickets and Osteomalacia.
Wnt Protein Family.