Growth Factors

Growth Factors: Cellular Growth Processes, Growth Factors, Hormonal Control of Growth is a compilation of papers from the 11th Meeting of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies in Copenhagen in 1977. The book explains the process that leads to cell replication in vitro and to actual growth in vivo. One paper then examines the use of a combined method to analyze growth control in a culture specimen. Another paper notes the evidence favoring the hypotheses that a delicately regulated increase in the amount of adenine and guanine nucleotide can affect significantly the metabolic pattern of cells that are likely to begin a new mitotic cycle. The book also discusses the possibility that natural polyamines can serve as growth factors and regulate cell growth in some microorganisms and in cell lines of animal origin. Consequently, the use of polyamine measurements to diagnose markers in human malignancies is one practical application of polyamine metabolism. The book also explains the effect of collagen on the chondrogenic differentiation of somite and limb bud mesenchyme on the biochemical processes in bone and cartilage formation. Another paper then discusses the effects of sex hormones on the growth of normal tissues, particularly on lean and fat tissues. The book can prove useful for biologists, chemists, biochemists, and academicians interested in cellular microbiology.