Once Nietzsche said that human beings may be divided into two categories: Apollonians and Dionysians*. By this the philosopher meant that there are human beings a) who know what they are going to do in the long-term future (what we now call the grant application for the next 5 years), i. e. , Apollonians, and b) who barely know what they are going to do tomorrow morning before breakfast, i. e. , Dionysians. ** To organize a symposium, this symposium in particular, a committee had to be formed either of individuals sharing both Nietzschean characteristics or of individuals possessing either characteristic. Considering the rarity of the former type of subject, this organizing committee was spontaneously formed by a typical sample of both types of individuals. We first met in Perugia in 1988. Those of us who were Apollonians had thus a chance to organize a programme. The Dionysians knew what was going to happen to them, but, of course, did not know yet how to cope with it. They duly did so every day of the meeting, after breakfast. The organizers decided that it would be a useful exercise to assemble experts having different perspectives but all pursuing a very rapidly developing aspect of cell biology. They also hoped that these selected Apollonians and Dionysians would not merely recount their results but try to project the future through active interchanges of ideas and opinions with other attendees.

Klappentext

This is an up-to-date overview on all biochemical and pharmacologial aspectsof the role of phospholipids in signal transmission. The main topics are themolecular composition of plasma membranes, receptor modulated effects ofphosphoinositide breakdown, metabolism, pharmacology, and clinical effects of natural phospholipids, modulation of signals produced by phospholipid catabolites such as diacylglycerol and phosphatidic acid, and interactions among phospholipids and calcium in neuromodulation. The book is an invaluable source of information for all pharmacologists, biochemists, and neuroscientists investigating lipid metabolism and the mechanisms of receptor activation.

Inhalt
Glycosylphosphatidylinositol Anchored Recognition Molecules That Mediate Intercellular Adhesion and Promote Neurite Outgrowth.- Lipid Synthesis and Targeting to the Mammalian Cell Surface.- The Aminophospholipid Transporter from Human Red Blood Cells.- Lipids (Composition and Topography) in Adrenal Chromaffin Granules and Their Relevance for the Function of These Organelles.- Accelerated Cell Membrane Degradation in Alzheimer's Disease Brain: Relationship to Amyloid Formation?.- Mechanistic and Functional Aspects of Oscillatory Calcium Signalling.- Phospholipid Hydrolysis and [Ca2+]i Control.- Phosphoinositide Hydrolysis Indicates Functional Receptors in Astrocytes and in Neoplastic Cells from the Human CNS.- The G-Proteins Regulating Phosphoinositide Breakdown.- Actions and Interactions of Cholinergic and Excitatory Aminoacid Receptors on Phosphoinositide Signals, Excitotoxicity and Neuroplasticity.- The Phospholipid Environment of Activated Synaptic Membrane Receptors May Provide Both Intracellularly and Retrogradely Acting Signals for the Regulation of Neuro(Muscular) Transmission.- The Role of Arachidonic Acid as a Retrograde Messenger in Long-Term Potentiation.- Resisting Memory Storage: Activating Endogenous Protein Kinease C Inhibitors.- B-50 Phosphorylation in Response to Different Patterns of Electrical Stimulation in Rat Hippocampal Slices.- Participation of Inositol Phosphates, Protein Kinase C, G-Proteins and Cyclic AMP in Signal Transduction in Primary Rat Astroglial Cultures.- Sphingosine, a Breakdown Product of Cellular Sphingolipids, in Cellular Proliferation and Phospholipid Metabolism.- Regulation of Phosphatidylserine Synthesis during T Cell Activation.- Anti-Phosphatidylserine Monoclonal Antibody: Structural Template for Studying Lipid-ProteinInteractions and for Identification of Phosphatidylserine Binding Proteins.- Immunomodulation by Serine Phospholipids.- Direct Effect of Phosphatidylserine on the Activity of the Post-Synaptic GABAA Receptor Complex.- Phosphatidylserine Reverses the Age-Dependent Decrease in Cortical Acetylcholine Release in the Rat.- Control of Phosphatidylcholine Metabolism.- The Conversion of Ethanolamine Containing Compounds to Choline Derivatives and Acetylcholine.- Phospholipid Metabolism in a Human Cholinergic Cell Line Possible Involvement of the Base Exchange Enzyme Activities.- Disposition of Choline for the Brain.- The Homeostasis of Brain Choline.- Tacrine (Tetrahydroaminoacridine) and the Metabolism of Acetylcholine and Choline.- CDPcholine, CDPethanolamine, Lipid Metabolism and Disorders of the Central Nervous System.- Biosynthesis of 1-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (Platelet Activating Factor) in Cultured Neuronal and Glial Cells.- PAF and Hypothalamic Secretions in the Rat.- Activation of Phospholipid Hydrolysis and Generation of Eicosanoids in Cultured Rat Astroglial Cells by PAF, and Modulation by N-3 Fatty Acids.- A Neural Primary Genomic Response to the Lipid Mediator Platelet-Activating Factor.