And he takes us into the laboratories of today's molecular chemists and neuroscientists who are creating drugs that will change our brains in ways that only a few years ago seemed the stuff of science fiction.

Many advances have been made in the last decade in the understanding of the computational principles underlying olfactory system functioning. Neuromorphic Olfaction is a collaboration among European researchers who, through NEUROCHEM (Fp7-Grant Agreement Number 216916)-a challenging and innovative European-funded project-introduce novel computing p

Cell Surface Receptors: A Short Course on Theory and Methods, Second Edition is a primer for the study of cell surface receptors. The simplified discussion of methods and their underlying principles removes the usual intimidation caused by the specialized vocabulary or sophisticated mathematics that characterize many of the primary papers in this field. In this way, the basic concepts become emphasized. This volume is a starting point: a textbook as well as a manual to which the investigator can return for a refresher course, when needed.

Nuclear receptors are ligand activated transcription factors that control numerous biological functions. Consequently, altering activity of these receptors is proposed, and indeed documented, to affect many physiological and pathological conditions in experimental animals and humans. Thus, nuclear receptors have become a major target in the effort to treat numerous diseases. This book will shed light on and emphasize intricate processes involved in designing as well as discovering physiological and pharmacological modulators of these important proteins. World-renowned scientists will share with the reader their professional expertise and extensive experience acquired through decades working with nuclear receptors. Chapters address the various means and consequences of modulating nuclear receptor activity will be presented and discussed. These modulators cover a wide span of moieties ranging from synthetic chemicals to natural products. In addition, the classification of these chemicals ranges from pan agonists to selective agonists and inverse agonists to antagonists. They also include proteolytic means to obliterate the receptor in the event that modulating its activity through canonical pharmacological agents becomes less effective and/or less desirable due to anticipated or experienced toxicities. Modulation of receptor activity may also take place in the absence of a ligand or through manipulating the structure of the receptor itself by controlling posttranslational events.

The T Cell Receptor FactsBook contains entries on all the 176 functional variable, diversity, joining, and constant regions of the human T cell receptor, including alpha, beta, gamma, and delta loci. Introductory chapters summarize information of T cell receptor chain synthesis, chromosomal location, and an overview of the human T cell receptor loci.

Receptors: Models for Binding, Trafficking, and Signaling bridges the gap between chemical engineering and cell biology by lucidly and practically demonstrating how a mathematical modeling approach combined with quantitative experiments can provide enhanced understanding of cell phenomena involving receptor/ligand interactions. In stressing the need for a quantitative understanding of how receptor-mediated cell functions depend on receptor and ligand properties, the book offers comprehensive treatments of both basic and state-of-the-art model frameworks that span the entire spectrum of receptor processes--from fundamental cell surface binding, intracellular trafficking, and signal transduction events to the cell behavioral functions they govern, including proliferation, adhesion, and migration. The book emphasizes mechanistic models that are accessible to experimental testing and includes detailed examples of important contemporary issues. This much-needed book introduces chemical engineers and bioengineers to important problems in receptor biology and familiarizes cell biologists with the insights that can be gained from engineering analysis and synthesis. As such, chemical engineers, researchers, and advanced students in the fields of biotechnology, biomedical sciences, bioengineering, and molecular cell biology will find this book to be conceptually rich, timely, and useful.

A comprehensive, state-of-the-art review of our current understanding of the molecular and structural biology of 5-HT receptors and their potential use for drug discovery. The authors describe the anatomical, cellular, and subcellular distribution of 5-HT receptors and demonstrate a powerful approach to elucidating their physiological role using knockout mice in which the 5-HT receptors were deleted. They also review our understanding of the physiological role(s) of 5-HT receptors based mainly on studies performed in genetically engineered mice. Highlights include discussions of the behavioral phenotypes of 5-HT receptor knockout animals, the molecular biology and pharmacology of 5-HT receptors, and insights into the complexity of 5-HT receptor signal transduction.

Since the first TRP ion channel was discovered in Drosophila melanogaster in 1989, the progress made in this area of signaling research has yielded findings that offer the potential to dramatically impact human health and wellness. Involved in gateway activity for all five of our senses, TRP channels have been shown to respond to a wide range of st

Ocular transporters and receptors contains detailed descriptions of major transporters and receptors expressed in the eye, with special emphasis on their role in drug delivery. The complex anatomy and the existence of multiple barriers in the eye pose a considerable challenge to successful drug delivery to the eye. Hence ocular transporters and receptors are important targets for drug delivery. A significant advancement has been made in the field of ocular transport research and their role in drug delivery. In this book the cutting edge research being carried out in this field is compiled and summarized. The book focuses on key areas, including the anatomy and physiology of the eye, biology of ocular transporters and receptors, techniques in characterization of transporters and receptors, transporters and receptors in the anterior and posterior segment in the eye, the role of ocular transporters and receptors in drug delivery, and transporter-metabolism interplay in the eye. - Highly focused on ocular transporters - Most up-to-date research compilation - Detailed description of role of transporters and receptors in ocular drug discovery and delivery

A comprehensive and detailed overview of the current state of preclinical research on histamine and histamine receptors. Part of the book focuses on novel approaches to the study of histamine receptors such as polymorphism, genetic linkage, and computational analysis, and on the use of new histaminergic ligands in diseases such as asthma and dermatitis. Several chapters will be devoted to the role of histamine in the control of homeostatic and behavioral responses such as the sleep-wake cycle, regulation of the blood brain barrier, food intake, alertness, itch, and memory formation and consolidation.