Most of the information on the functional role, structure and molecular biology of creatine kinase is scattered in several hundreds of publications. The editors of this volume invited all authors who are most active at present in experimental research on creatine kinases to summarize their work and make the information easily available to a wider scientific audience, especially to young investigators who are entering this field. Since the functional role of coupled creatine kinases is directly related to the phenomenon of compartmentation and structural organization of metabolic networks, we also invited experts in the related areas to contribute to the volume. Almost all invited authors responded enthusiastically and the results of this collective work are presented here.
For biochemists, biophysicists, physiologists, and medical research workers.

Inhalt
Preface.- I Muscle Energy Metabolism.- 1a. Introduction: history of the problem.- 1b. A brief summary of the history of the detection of creatine kinase isoenzymes.- 2. Metabolic regulation of in vivo myocardial contractile function: multiparameter analysis.- 3. Compartmentation of ATP synthesis and utilization in smooth muscle: roles of aerobic glycolysis and creatine kinase.- 4. Creatine metabolism and the consequences of creatine depletion in muscle.- II Substrate and Creatine Kinase Isoenzyme Compartmentation.- 1. The importance of the outer mitochondrial compartment in regulation of energy metabolism.- 2. The influence of the cytosoliconcotic pressure on the permeability of the mitochondrial outer membrane for ADP: implications for the kinetic properties of mitochondrial creatine kinase and for ADP channelling into the intermembrane space.- 3. Influence of mitochondrial creatine kinase on the mitochondrial/extramitochondrial distribution of high energy phosphates in muscle tissue: evidence for a leak in the creatine shuttle.- 4. The structure of mitochondrial creatine kinase and its membrane binding properties.- 5. Myofibrillar creatine kinase and cardiac contraction.- 6. Interaction of creatine kinase and adenylate systems in muscle cells.- III Creatine Kinases and Metabolic Integration.- 1. Metabolic compartmentation and substrate channelling in muscle cells. Role of coupled creatine kinases in in vivo regulation of cellular respiration a synthesis.- 2. Creatine kinase in non-muscle tissues and cells.- 3. The creatine kinase system in smooth muscle.- IV Molecular Biology of Creatine Kinases.- 1. Expression of the mitochondrial creatine kinase genes.- 2. Sequence homology and structure predictions of the creatine kinase isoenzymes.- 3.Approaching the multifaceted nature of energy metabolism: inactivation of the cytosolic creatine kinases via homologous recombination in mouse embryonic stem cells.- V Development and Pathological Alterations of Creatine Kinases.- 1. Compartmentation of creatine kinases during perinatal development of mammalian heart.- 2. In situ study of myofibrils, mitochondria and bound creatine kinases in experimental cardiomyopathies.- 3. Thyroid hormones and the creatine kinase system in cardiac cells.- VI Metabolic Regulation: Theoretical Basis.- 1. Control theory of metabolic channelling.- 2. Mathematical modeling of intracellular transport processes and the creatine kinase systems: a probability approach.