Hormone Signaling

Multicellular organisms require a means of intracellular communication to organize and develop the complex body plan that occurs during embryogenesis and then for cell and organ systems to access and respond to an ever changing environmental milieu. Mediators of this constant exchange of information are growth factors, neurotransmmitters, peptide and protein hormones which bind to cell surface receptors and transduce their signals from the extracellular space to the intracellular compartment. Via multiple signaling pathways, receptors of this general class affect growth, development and differentiation. Smaller hydrophobic signaling molecules, such as steroids and non-steroid hormones, vitamins and metabolic mediators interact with a large family of nuclear receptors. These receptors function as transcription factors affecting gene expression, to regulate the multiple aspects of animal and human physiology, including development, reproduction and homeostasis.
The aim of this book is to cover various aspects of intracellular signaling involving hormone receptors.

Section I Fundamental Mechanisms in Signaling.- 1 Protein Phosphorylation and Protein-Protein Interactions.- 2 Control of Signaling by Tyrosine Phosphatases.- 3 Spatio-Temporal Parameters: The Case of the MAP Kinase Pathway.- Section II Receptor Tyrosine Kinases.- 4 The EGF Receptor Signaling System. A Model for Growth Factor Receptor Signaling.- 5 Insulin and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Receptors and Signaling Pathways: Similarities and Differences.- Section III Cytokine Receptors.- 6 The JAK-STAT Pathway.- 7 Prolactin and Growth Hormone Receptors. Signal Transduction and Crosstalk.- 8 Erythropoietin, Thrombopoietin and Leptin Receptors.- Section IV G Protein-Coupled Receptors.- 9 G Proteins and G Protein-Coupled Receptors: Overview.- 10 Gonadotropin and TSH Receptors.- 11 Endothelin G Protein-Coupled Receptors.- Section V Nuclear Receptors.- 12 Signal Transduction and Structure of Nuclear Receptors.- 13 Estrogen Receptor Beta: How Awareness of ER? Affects Our Understanding of Estrogen Action.- 14 Sensors for Metabolic Control. A Regulatory Network of Nuclear Receptors.