Customer Reviews

Signal Transduction

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anyone who has surveyed the collection of existing textbooks on signal transduction realizes that they come in two basic flavors - those that cover alot of ground in an extremely superficial fashion, and those that delve in depth into a few narrow area while leaving vast tracts of the subject untouched. In addition, most texts are written on a chapter-by-chapter basis by different authors, leaving these texts more a collection of essays than a comprehensive review.
Gomperts, Kramer and Tatham's book has suceeded dramatically where most of the others have failed. The text is strikingly comprehensive, covering nearly all major areas of signal transduction including receptors, G proteins, calcium signaling, protein and lipid kinases and phosphatases, growth factors and cell adhesion. It is the first book I have seen that integrates historical, pharmacological, and physiological findings in these areas with the biochemistry and fine molecular detail of the molecules involved. Written with a single voice, the chapters integrate elegantly with one another, and provide the reader with both broad and comprehensive viewpoints - one sees the forest AND the trees! Remarkably current and up-to-date, the book promises to be a core text for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in cell signaling and molecular cell biology, and a valuable reference book for all scientists whose work involves mechanisms of cell communication.

My research group used a previous edition of this text in a seminar series during our weekly group meetings as a review text. It is very good at introducing the subject matter or serving as a refresher for students. The background info adds a nice touch. The ample illustrations help convey the information for the visual learners among us.

The authors intended this book for students and professionals. I don't fall into either group but I enjoyed it and learned from it, so I'm reviewing it for other similarly inclined non-scientists.

Cell-to-cell communication is of supreme importance to multicellular organisms and so it is of interest from many points of view. For example, I am very interested in its role in evolutionary developmental biology. Other people will be more interested in hormones, nerve signaling, et al. Signal Transduction is that part of communication that happens inside the cell, between the signal and the DNA. Thus it doesn't include neurotransmitters which activate ion channels in the membrane, nor does it include steroids, which pass through the membrane and into the nucleus. Nevertheless, it covers most cell communication. In particular, there is a lot of material on G-protein-coupled receptors, which make up a majority of the receptors, and tyrosine kinase receptors, which are also plentiful.

As the authors describe it, chapters 1-9 are on the "nuts and bolts" of transduction. This includes a very brief introduction to intercellular signaling molecules (such as hormones and neurotransmitters) and receptors, followed by some details about the internals, including calcium ions and phosphate exchange. In the second part, "attention is concentrated on transduction processes set in action by growth factors and adhesion molecules". There is also a short section on insulin. This part fills in the chains from the receptors to the DNA and describes the processes which regulate the chains and switch them off after they've done their jobs.

The choice of emphasis in the second part allows the authors to spend some time on cancer. Failure in the growth factor pathways can cause cells to proliferate out of control; failure in cell adhesion can result in metastasis. Accordingly, there are sections on the cell cycle, the transformations of cancer cells, and apoptosis.

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I said that I am not a scientist, but that doesn't mean that Signal Transduction is a book for beginners. The reader must have some experience with molecular biology diagrams in which symbols stand for molecules that are interacting with each other. Some biochemistry is required, though not a lot. The reader will need to know what amino acids, lipids, and nucleotides are. If you're unsure if this is the level for you, it might help you to click on my name above and read the "In My Own Words" part of my profile and to click on "Read all my reviews" to get some idea of what I've been reading. Signal Transduction isn't the most advanced book that I've read, but it's more advanced than most.

The book jacket calls this book a "text reference" and a "valuable resource". That is the right way to see it; I have already used it to help me understand some articles on the Internet. But I also recommend that you read the book at least once all the way through, both to get the lay of the land and to enjoy this fine book.

I mentioned that cell signaling is very important in evolutionary developmental biology ("Evo-Devo"). For any reader interested in that subject, I highly recommend Sean Carroll's From DNA to Diversity. If you are interested in evolution, note in Signal Transduction how enormous complexity comes about through duplication and modification of genes; indeed, whole transduction chains can be regarded as modules that are duplicated with modification.

If you want to know more about what happens at the other end of the chain, at the DNA, I recommend Molecular Biology of the Gene by Watson, et al. If you want to know more about cancer, there is an excellent elementary book, Molecular Biology of Cancer, by Lauren Pecorino; this book helped prepare me for Signal Transduction.

This book is a very good introduction to the subject. Depth and breadth of coverage is in general well balanced and the abundant diagrams help understanding quite a bit. The topics choosen by the authors are informative and put together an ok picture of signaling processes. There is one main areas that have been omited and I think prevent the book from giving a "very good" (as opposed to just ok) picture of the field, namely: spatio-temporal dynamics of signaling cascades and mathematical modeling of this processes. In my opionion, understanding the spatio-temportal organization of the signaling machinery is fundamental to understand signaling and the authors do not present the subject adequately (if at all). The second failure is in the area of "systems thinking". The book fails to convey the complexity of the multiple levels of feedback and other forms of regulation that make these systems work. Spatio-temporal organization and dynamics are a fundamental part of signaling pathways and you can't get a realistic picture of what is going on without them.

The field is advancing at warp speed and a new edition may be in order. Perhaps the new edition could include a couple of chapters about spatial organization and a more "holistic" view of signaling systems.

5 stars - give me a break, that book hasn't been written yet! By comparison with the other [stuff]hat's out there, like the abysmal Hancock book from a few years ago or the equally execrable Helmreich text, this one DOES stand out like a overexpressed GFP-kinase. One thing that is definitely better is the illustrations (not credited remarkably enough) most of which are well done. It is a pretty good undergrad text and I used it in a course to generally good reviews. The format is entirely conventional, however, and follows a predictable sequence. One is not going to learn much new, if already in the field. Old Gomp et al do get nostalgic with their historical sidelines and overdo it in some places - e.g. the abstruse tale of who really discovered insulin - but in general the use of sidebars (very reminiscent of the new Nature review journals in format) is well done.

There are several problems that are difficult to work out in teaching signalling to undergrads these days. One is how to incorporate enough physiology of specific organs such that the tissue-specific signalling that makes them work is comprehensible. Another is how to incorporate the newer structural information so that it actually adds to understanding, as opposed to being just a superficial take on structural biology. I don't think the text solves either of these problems particularly well, but it does make a worthwhile stab at it.

All in all a good buy. One awaits the paperback so that the [money]tag is not such a hurdle to purchase.

The book covers certain areas, such as the tyrosine kinases in signaling, very well. However, there is a lot of misinformation as well as a lack of information with respect to phosphodiesterases, cGMP and MMPs, just to name a few. Overall, though, it is a good starting point for someone interested in a broad understanding of cell signaling.