A variety of metabolic processes are known to be intimately involved in the maintenance of cellular structure and function. It has also become clear that metabolic events involved in the synthesis and hydrolysis of ATP as well as for the synthesis of proteins and phospholipids are essential for cellular health. The regulation of cell function is generally achieved through participation of a wide variety of hormones and different signal transduction mechanisms for the activation/deactivation of some specific metabolic processes. In this regard cyclic AMP and calcium seem to play a crucial role. Various hormones are also known to affect the genetic machinery of all the cell; however, the exact signals for genetic control of cellular function are not well defined. In particular, the sequence of events concerned with remodelling of different types of cells under various pathological situations is poorly understood. In this book we have therefore dealt with some of these issues from biochemical, molecular biological, physiological, and pharmacological viewpoints. Special emphasis has been laid on understanding heart function and metabolism in health and disease in general, and cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, and ischemic heart disease in particular. It is hoped that this multidisciplinary information will be of value to basic scientists and clinical investigators.

Inhalt
Preface.- Control of growth in neonatal pig hearts.- Role of protein kinase system in the signal transduction of stretch-mediated protooncogene expression and hypertrophy of cardiac myocytes.- Growth factor for cardiac hypertrophy.- Effect of angiotensin coverting enzyme inhibitor on regression in cardiac hypertrophy.- Differing responses of G2-related genes during differentiation of HL60 cells induced by TPA or DMSO.- Mechanistic effects of kijimicin on inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus replication.- Function and energy metabolism of isolated hearts obtained from hyperthyroid spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). A 3lp-nuclear magnetic resonance study.- Increased calcium release from sarcoplasmic reticulum stimulated by inositol trisphosphate in spontaneously hypertensive rat heart cells.- Radical spread of aequorin Ca2+ signal in single frog skeletal muscle fibers.- Cardiac contractile proteins and autoimmune myocarditis.- Force-frequency-relation in human atrial and ventricular myocardium.- Depressed sliding velocity of isolated cardiac myosin from cardiomyopathic hamsters: Evidence for an alteration in mechanical interaction of actomyosin.- Abnormalities of ADP/ATP carrier protein in J-2-N cardiomyopathic hamsters.- Age-associated damage in mitochondrial DNA in human hearts.- Mitochondrial DNA deletion in human myocardium.- Ischemic changes in myocardial ionic contents of the isolated perfused rat hearts as studied by NMR.- 31P-NMR magnetization transfer study of reperfused rat heart.- Release of 6-KETO-PGF1? and thromboxane B2 in late appearing cardioprotection induced by the stable PGI analogue: 7-OXO-PGI.- Effects of iloprost a PGI2 derivative on ischemic myocardial energy and carbohydrate metabolism in dogs.- Cardioprotective actions of wild garlic(Allium ursinum) in ischemia and reperfusion.- Na+/H+ exchanger and reperfusion-induced ventricular arrhythmias in isolated perfused heart: Possible role of amiloride.- Effects of a new class I antiarrhythmic drug bidisomide on canine ventricular arrhythmia models.- Antimicrobial activity of lipoprotein particles containing apolipoprotein Al.- Molecular characteristics in Japanese patients with lipidosis: Novel mutations in metachromatic leukodystrophy and Gaucher disease.- Characterization of adenylyl cyclase in heart sarcolemma in the absence of presence of alamethicin.- Cyclic AMP metabolism in intact rat ventricular cardiac myocytes: Interaction of carbachol with isoproterenol and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine.- Purification and properties of pyridoxal kinase from bovine brain.- Modulation of the effect of glibenclamide on KATP channels by ATP and ADP.