Books

Books reviewed in this article: Antas , P.T.Z. & Cavalcanti , R.B. 1988. Aves Comuns do Planalto Central. Chandler , R.J. 1989. The Macmillan Field Guide to North Atlantic Shorebirds. Clutton -Brock , T.H. (ed.). 1988. Reproductive Success: studies of individual variations in contrasting breeding systems. Delin , H. & Svensson , L. 1988. Photographic Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe. Dunning , J.S. 1987. South American Birds—a photographic aid to identification. Ewans , M. 1989. Bharatpur Bird Paradise. Frugis , S., Malaguzzi , G., Vicini , G. & Cristina , Grimmett , R.F.A. & Jones , T.A. (eds) 1989. Important Bird Areas in Europe. Hutchinson , C.D. 1989. Birds in Ireland. Iapichino , C. & Massa , B. 1989. The Birds of Sicily. Kilham , L. 1989. The American Crow and the Common Raven. Kooyman , G.L. 1989. Diverse Divers: physiology and behaviour. Mearns , B. & Mearns , R. 1988. Biographies for Birdwatchers Mingozzi , T., Boano , G., Pulcher , C. & Collaborators. Poole , A. 1989. Ospreys: a Natural and Unnatural History. Pringle , J.D. 1987. The Shorebirds of Australia. Rheinwald , G., Ogden , J. & Schulz , H. (eds) 1989. Weißstorch: Status und Schutz. White Stork: Status and Conservation. Roughgarden , J., May , R.M. & Levin S.A. 1989. Perspectives in Ecological Theory. Sheail , J. 1985. Pesticides and Nature Conservation—The British Experience 1950–1975. Stalmaster , M. 1987. The Bald Eagle. Turner , A. & Rose , C. 1989. A Handbook to the Swallows and Martins of the World. Viksne , J. (ed.) 1989. Latvian Breeding Bird Atlas 1980–1984 (in Latvian, Russian and English). Ashmole , M. & P. 1989. Natural History Excursions in Tenerife. Axelson , R.D. 1989. Caring for Your Pet Bird. Bauer , K. 1989. Rote Listen der Gefährdeten Vögel und Säugetiere Österreichs und Verzeichnisse der in Österreich vorkommenden Arten. Bircham , P. 1989. The Birds of Cambridgeshire Boyd , H. & Pirot , J.-Y. (eds) 1989. Flyways and Reserve Networks for Waterbirds. Brasseler , H. 1987. Bibliography of Ornithological Bibliographies II. Donkin , R.A. 1989. The Muscovy Duck Cairina moschata domestica. Elliott , R.E. 1989. Birds of Islay. Flint , V.E., Boehme , R.L., Kostin , Y.V. & Kuznetsov , A.A. 1989. A Field Guide to the Birds of the USSR. Translated from the Russian by N. Bourso-Leland. Holmgren , V.C. 1986. The Way of the Hummingbird. Hulm , P. (ed.) 1989. World Wildlife Conservation Yearbook 1987/88. Inskipp , T., Broad , S. & Luxmoore , R. (eds) 1988. Significant Trade in Wildlife: A review of the Selected Species in CITES Appendix II. Volume 3: Birds Kofalk , H. 1989. No Woman Tenderfoot. Florence Merriam Bailey, Pioneer Naturalist. Kondratiev , A. Ya. 1989. Bulletin of the Working Group on Waders (in Russian). Lohmann , M. & Haarmann , K. 1989. Vogelparadiese—122 Biotope zwischen Wattenmeer und Bodensee. Lorand , S. & Atkin , K. 1989. The Birds of Lincolnshire and South Humberside. Monval , J.-Y. & Pirot , J.-Y. (rds) 1989. Results of the IWRB International Waterfowl Census 1967–1986. Moss , S. 1988. Natural History of the Antarctic Peninsula. Ogilvie , M. & Winter , S. (eds) 1989. Best Days with British Birds. Orton , D.A. 1989. The Hawkwatcher. Adventures among birds of prey in the wild. Paynter , R.A. Jr. 1989. Ornithological Gazetteer of Paraguay. 2nd ed. Pemberton , J.E. (ed.) 1989. The Birdwatcher's Yearbook and Diary 1990. Pickford , P. & B., & Tarboton , W. 1989. African Birds of Prey. Reilly , P. 1988. The Lyrebird. Santa Barbara Software Products 1988. World Birdbase: Users Manual. Santa Barbara: Santa Barbara Software Products. Schembri , P.J. & Sultana , J. (ed.) 1989. Red Data Book for the Maltese Islands. Scottish Chouch Study Group . 1989. Choughs and Land-use in Europe. Van Someren , G.R. Cunningham & Van Someren , L.A. 1989. Van Somerens' Birds I.     

Reconstitution of a developmental clock in vitro: a critical role for astrocytes in the timing of oligodendrocyte differentiation

The rat optic nerve contains three types of macroglial cells: type 1 astrocytes first appear at embryonic day 16 (E16), oligodendrocytes at birth (E21), and type 2 astrocytes between postnatal days 7 and 10. The oligodendrocytes and type 2 astrocytes develop from a common, bipotential O-2A progenitor cell. We show here that although O-2A progenitor cells in E17 optic nerve prematurely stop dividing and differentiate into oligodendrocytes within 2 days in culture, when cultured on a monolayer of type 1 astrocytes, they continue to proliferate; moreover, the first cells differentiate into oligodendrocytes after 4 days in vitro, which is equivalent to the time that oligodendrocytes first appear in vivo. Our findings suggest that the timing of oligodendrocyte differentiation depends on an intrinsic clock in the O-2A progenitor cell that counts cell divisions that are driven by a growth factor (or factors) produced by type 1 astrocytes.     

PDGF receptors on cells of the oligodendrocyte-type-2 astrocyte (O-2A) cell lineage

It has been shown previously that cultures of rat optic nerve contain three types of macroglial cells--oligodendrocytes and two types of astrocytes. Type-1 astrocytes develop from their own precursor cells beginning before birth, while oligodendrocytes and type-2 astrocytes develop postnatally from a common bipotential precursor called the O-2A progenitor cell. Proliferating O-2A progenitor cells give rise to postmitotic oligodendrocytes beginning around birth, and to type-2 astrocytes beginning in the second postnatal week. Studies in vitro have suggested that platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), secreted by type-1 astrocytes, plays an important part in timing oligodendrocyte development: PDGF seems to keep O-2A progenitor cells proliferating until an intrinsic clock in the progenitor cells initiates the process leading to oligodendrocyte differentiation. The clock apparently determines when a progenitor cell becomes unresponsive to PDGF, at which point the cell stops dividing and, as a consequence, automatically differentiates into an oligodendrocyte. Here we have used radiolabelled PDGF to show that O-2A progenitor cells have PDGF receptors, suggesting that these cells respond directly to PDGF. The receptors resemble the type A PDGF receptor previously described on human fibroblasts and are initially retained when progenitor cells stop dividing and develop in vitro into oligodendrocytes. The latter finding indicates that receptor loss is not the reason that progenitor cells initially become mitotically unresponsive to PDGF.     

ANG II stimulation of neuritogenesis involves protein kinase B in brain neurons

Stimulation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-protein kinase B (PKB) signal transduction pathway has been linked to the neuromodulatory action of ANG II in the brain neurons of the spontaneously hypertensive rat (Yang H and Raizada MK. J Neurosci 19: 2413-2423, 1999). The cellular consequences of this signaling pathway, however, remain unknown in the brain neurons from the normotensive rat. The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that the PI3K-PKB signaling cascade activates an ANG II-mediated neuritogenic action by stimulating cellular growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43) and neurite extension in Wistar-Kyoto rat brain neurons. ANG II activation of the ANG II type 1 receptor caused increases in PKB activity, cellular GAP-43 levels, and neurite extension in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Depletion of PKB by specific antisense oligonucleotides attenuated ANG II stimulation of both GAP-43 and neurite extension. PKB involvement in neuritogenic action is further supported by the observation that neurons that overexpress PKB develop extensive neuronal processes in the absence of ANG II. These observations demonstrate that PKB is directly involved in ANG II-mediated effects and may recruit both nuclear and cytoplasmic signaling systems for this action.     

Transient expression of GAP-43 in nonneuronal cells of the embryonic chicken limb.

Growth associated protein (GAP)-43 is a membrane-bound phosphoprotein expressed in neurons and is particularly abundant during periods of axonal outgrowth in development and regeneration of the nervous system. In previous work, we cloned a full-length chicken GAP-43 cDNA and described the expression of its corresponding mRNA during early development of the chicken nervous system. We report here that the GAP-43 mRNA is also expressed transiently in developing limbs of chicken embryos, which contain axons of spinal cord and dorsal root ganglion neurons, but do not contain neuronal cell bodies. GAP-43 mRNA was first detectable by RNA blot analysis in limbs from Embryonic Day 5 (E5) embryos, reached maximal levels between E6 and E8, and diminished by E10. In situ hybridization analysis showed that the GAP-43 mRNA was localized in distal regions of developing limbs and was particularly abundant in the mesenchyme surrounding the digital cartilage. In some regions of the limb, GAP-43 immunoreactivity colocalized in cells that were also immunoreactive for meromyosin, a muscle-specific marker. These data suggest that both GAP-43 mRNA and the protein are expressed in nonneuronal cells of the developing limb, some of which may be part of the muscle cell lineage.     

Rapid changes in the distribution of GAP-43 correlate with the expression of neuronal polarity during normal development and under experimental conditions

Hippocampal neurons growing in culture initially extend several, short minor processes that have the potential to become either axons or dendrites. The first expression of polarity occurs when one of these minor processes begins to elongate rapidly, becoming the axon. Before axonal outgrowth, the growth-associated protein GAP-43 is distributed equally among the growth cones of the minor processes; it is preferentially concentrated in the axonal growth cone once polarity has been established (Goslin, K., D. Schreyer, J. Skene, and G. Banker. 1990. J. Neurosci. 10:588-602). To determine when the selective segregation of GAP-43 begins, we followed individual cells by video microscopy, fixed them as soon as the axon could be distinguished, and localized GAP-43 by immunofluorescence microscopy. Individual minor processes acquired axonal growth characteristics within a period of 30-60 min, and GAP-43 became selectively concentrated to the growth cones of these processes with an equally rapid time course. We also examined changes in the distribution of GAP-43 after transection of the axon. After an axonal transection that is distant from the soma, neuronal polarity is maintained, and the original axon begins to regrow almost immediately. In such cases, GAP-43 became selectively concentrated in the new axonal growth cone within 12-30 min. In contrast, when the axon is transected close to the soma, polarity is lost; the original axon rarely regrows, and there is a significant delay before a new axon emerges. Under these circumstances, GAP-43 accumulated in the new growth cone much more slowly, suggesting that its ongoing selective routing to the axon had been disrupted by the transection. These results demonstrate that the selective segregation of GAP-43 to the growth cone of a single process is closely correlated with the acquisition of axonal growth characteristics and, hence, with the expression of polarity.     

Macroglial cell development in embryonic rat brain: studies using monoclonal antibodies, fluorescence activated cell sorting, and cell culture

Astrocytes, ependymal cells, and oligodendrocytes have been shown to develop on the same schedule in dissociated cell cultures of early embryonic rat brain as in vivo. Subsequent studies showed that there are two major types of astrocyte (type-1 and type-2), which, in cultures of perinatal optic nerve, develop as two distinct lineages. In such cultures, type-2 astrocytes and oligodendrocytes develop from the same, bipotential, (O-2A) progenitor cells, which differentiate into type-2 astrocytes in 10% fetal calf serum (FCS) and into oligodendrocytes in less than or equal to 0.5% FCS. In light of these findings, we now have extended our studies on macroglial cell development in rat brain and show the following: (i) The first astrocytes to develop have a type-1 phenotype, while astrocytes with a type-2 phenotype do not develop until almost 2 weeks later, just as in the optic nerve. (ii) Most importantly, type-2 astrocytes, like the other macroglial cells, develop on the same schedule in cultures of early embryonic (less than or equal to E15) brain as they do in vivo. (iii) By contrast, both oligodendrocytes and type-2 astrocytes develop prematurely in cultures of E17 brain, and FCS influences this development in the same way it does in perinatal optic nerve cultures. (iv) Type-2 astrocyte precursors are labeled by the A2B5 monoclonal antibody, as shown previously for oligodendrocyte precursors in brain and for O-2A progenitor cells in optic nerve. Taken together with our previous findings, these results suggest that oligodendrocytes and type-2 astrocytes in brain develop from bipotential O-2A progenitor cells, whose choice of developmental pathway and timing of differentiation depend on mechanisms that operate independently of brain morphogenesis.     

Glutamine synthetase expression in rat oligodendrocytes in culture: regulation by hormones and growth factors.

Glutamine synthetase (GS, EC 6.3.1.2.) has long been considered as a protein specific for astrocytes in the brain, but recently GS immunoreactivity has been reported in oligodendrocytes both in mixed primary glial cell cultures and in vivo. We have investigated its expression and regulation in "pure" oligodendrocyte cultures. "Pure" oligodendrocyte secondary cultures were derived from newborn rat brain primary cultures enriched in oligodendrocytes as described by Besnard et al. (1987) and were grown in chemically defined medium. These cultures contain more than 90% galactocerebroside-positive oligodendrocytes and produce "myelin" membranes (Fressinaud et al., 1990) after 6-10 days in subcultures (30-35 days, total time in culture). The presence of GS in oligodendrocytes from both primary glial cell cultures and "pure" oligodendrocyte cultures was confirmed by double immunostaining with a rabbit antisheep GS and guinea pig antirat brain myelin 2', 3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase. In "pure" oligodendrocyte cultures, about half of cells were labeled with anti-GS antibody. Furthermore, on the immunoblot performed with a rabbit antisheep GS, the GS protein in "pure" oligodendrocyte secondary cultures was visualized as a single band with an apparent molecular mass of about 43 kDa. In contrast, two protein bands for GS were observed in cultured astrocytes. On the immunoblot performed with a rabbit antichick GS, two immunopositive protein bands were observed: a major one migrating as the purified adult chick brain GS and a minor one with a lower molecular mass. Two similar immunoreactive bands were also observed in pure rat astrocyte cultures. Compared to pure rat astrocyte cultures, "pure" oligodendrocyte cultures of the same age displayed an unexpectedly high GS specific activity that could not be explained by astrocytic contamination of the cultures (less than 5%). As for cultured astrocytes, treatment of oligodendrocyte cultures with dibutyryl-adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate, triiodothyronine, or hydrocortisone increased significantly GS specific activity. Interestingly, epidermal growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, and platelet-derived growth factor that increase the GS activity in astrocytes do not affect this activity in oligodendrocytes. Thus we confirm the finding of Warringa et al. (1988) that GS is also expressed in oligodendrocytes. We show that its activity is regulated similarly in astrocytes and oligodendrocytes by hormones, but that it is regulated differently by growth factors in these two cell types.     

Homer proteins control neuronal differentiation through IP(3) receptor signaling

Neurons expand, sustain or prune their dendritic trees during ontogenesis [Cline, H.T. (2001). Dendritic arbor development and synaptogenesis. Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 11, 118-126; Wong, W.T. and Wong, R.O.L. (2000) Rapid dendritic movements during synapse formation and rearrangement. Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 10, 118-124] which critically depends on neuronal activity [Wong, W.T., Faulkner-Jones, B.E., Sanes, J.R. and Wong, R.O.L. (2000) Rapid dendritic remodeling in the developing retina: dependence on neurotransmission and reciprocal regulation by Rac and Rho. J. Neurosci. 20, 5024-5036; Li, Z., Van Aelst, L. and Cline, H.T. (2000) Rho GTPases regulate distinct aspects of dendritic arbor growth in Xenopus central neurons in vivo. Nat. Neurosci. 3, 217-225; Wong, W.T. and Wong, R.O.L. (2001) Changing specificity of neurotransmitter regulation of rapid dendritic remodeling during synaptogenesis. Nat. Neurosci. 4, 351-352.] and sub-cellular Ca(2+) signals [Lohmann, C., Myhr, K.L. and Wong, R.O. (2002) Transmitter-evoked local calcium release stabilizes developing dendrites, Nature 418, 177-181.]. The role of synaptic clustering proteins connecting both processes is unclear. Here, we show that expression levels of Vesl-1/Homer 1 isoforms critically control properties of Ca(2+) release from intracellular stores and dendritic morphology of CNS neurons. Vesl-1L/Homer 1c, an isoform with a functional WH1 and coiled-coil domain, but not isoforms missing these features were capable of potentiating intracellular calcium signaling activity indicating that such regulatory interactions function as a general paradigm in cellular differentiation and are subject to changes in expression levels of Vesl/Homer isoforms.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Bruce-Chwatt, L. J., ed., with Black, R. H., Canfield, C. J., Clyde, D. F., Peters, W. & Wernsdorfer, W. H. 1986. Chemotherapy of Malaria .
Peters, W. & Killick-Kendrick, R., eds. 1987. The Leishmaniases in Biology and Medicine , Vol. I: Biology and Epidemiology
Euzéby, Jacques. 1987. Protozoologie Médicate Comparée. Les Protozooses des Animaux et Leurs Relations Avec les Protozooses de l'Homme , Vol. II: Myxozoa—Microspora—Ascetospora. Apicomplexa, 1: Coccidioses (Sensu Lato ).
McDougald, L. R., Joyner, L. P. & Long, P. L., eds. 1986. Research in Avian Coccidiosis .
Wichterman, R. 1986. The Biology of Paramecium, 2nd ed.
Levine, N. D. & Ivens, V. 1986. The Coccidian Parasites (Protozoa, Apicomplexa) of Artiodactyla .     

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor reverses ethanol-mediated increases in tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity via altering the activity of heat shock protein 90

We previously found that glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA) negatively regulates alcohol drinking (He, D. Y., McGough, N. N., Ravindranathan, A., Jeanblanc, J., Logrip, M. L., Phamluong, K., Janak, P. H., and Ron, D. (2005) J. Neurosci. 25, 619-628). Several studies suggest a role for GDNF in the regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) levels in the midbrain (Georgievska, B., Kirik, D., and Bjorklund, A. (2004) J. Neurosci. 24, 6437-6445). Up-regulation of TH levels has been reported as a hallmark of biochemical adaptations to in vivo chronic exposure to drugs of abuse, including ethanol (Ortiz, J., Fitzgerald, L. W., Charlton, M., Lane, S., Trevisan, L., Guitart, X., Shoemaker, W., Duman, R. S., and Nestler, E. J. (1995) Synapse 21, 289-298). We hypothesized that GDNF plays an important role in regulating prolonged ethanol-mediated increases in TH protein levels. Using the SH-SY5Y dopaminergic-like cell line, we found that the increase in TH levels in the presence of ethanol required the activation of the cAMP/PKA pathway and was reversed by GDNF. Ethanol treatment did not alter the mRNA level or protein translation of TH, but enhanced the stability of the protein that was decreased by GDNF. Interestingly, we observed that ethanol treatment resulted in an increase in TH association with the chaperone heat shock protein (HSP90) that was mediated by the cAMP/PKA pathway and inhibited by GDNF. Taken together, these data suggest that prolonged ethanol exposure leads to increased association of TH and HSP90 via the cAMP/PKA pathway, resulting in the stabilization and subsequent accumulation of TH. GDNF reverses this ethanol-mediated adaptation by inhibiting the interaction of TH with HSP90.     

Recognition of the A chain carboxy-terminal heparin binding region of fibronectin involves multiple sites: two contiguous sequences act independently to promote neural cell adhesion

Cellular interactions with fibronectin-treated substrata have a complex molecular basis involving multiple domains. A carboxy-terminal cell and heparin binding region of fibronectin (FN) is particularly interesting because it is a strong promoter of neurite outgrowth (Rogers, S.L., J.B. McCarthy, S.L. Palm, L.T. Furcht, and P.C. Letourneau, 1985. J. Neurosci. 5:369-378) and cell attachment (McCarthy, J.B., S.T. Hagen, and L.T. Furcht. 1986. J. Cell Biol. 102:179-188). To further understand the molecular mechanisms of neuronal interactions with this region of FN, we screened two peptides from the 33-kD heparin binding fragment of the FN A chain, FN-C/H II (KNNQKSEPLIGRKKT) and CS1 (Humphries, M.J., A. Komoriya, S.K. Akiyama, K. Olden, and K.M. Yamada. 1987. J. Biol. Chem. 262:6886-6892), for their ability to promote B104 neuroblastoma cell-substratum adhesion and neurite outgrowth. Both FN- C/H II and CS1 promoted B104 cell attachment in a concentration- dependent and saturable manner, with attachment to FN-C/H II exceeding attachment to CS1. In solution, both exogenous FN-C/H II or CS1 partially inhibited cell adhesion to the 33-kD fragment. Similar results were obtained with anti-FN-C/H II antibodies. In contrast, soluble GRGDSP did not affect B104 cell adhesion to FN-C/H II. These results indicate that both FN-C/H II and CS1 represent distinct, RGD- independent, cell adhesion-promoting sites active within the 33-kD fragment, and further define FN-C/H II as a novel neural recognition sequence in FN. B104 adhesion to FN-C/H II and CS1 differs in sensitivity to heparin, yet each peptide inhibited adhesion to the other peptide, suggesting cell adhesion is somehow related at the cellular level. Within the A chain 33-kD fragment, FN-C/H II and CS1 are contiguous, and might represent components of a larger domain with greater neurite-promoting activity since only the 33-kD fragment, and neither individual peptide, was effective at promoting B104 neurite outgrowth. These data further support the hypothesis that cell responses to FN are mediated by multiple sites involving both heparin- sensitive and -insensitive mechanisms.     

Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Rahmann, H., ed. (1989): Fundamentals of memory formation: neuronal plasticity and brain function (Grundlagen der Gedächtnisbildung). Eisner , N., & W. Singer, eds. (1989): Dynamics and plasticity in neuronal systems (Dynamik und Plastizität in Nervensystemen). Proceedings of the 17th Göttingen Neurobiology Conference, 1989. Eisner , N., & G. Roth, eds. (1990): Brain-Perception-Cognition (Gehirn-Wahrnehmen-Erkennen). Wiese , K., W.-I). Krenz , J. Tautz , H. Reichert , & B. Mulloney, eds. (1990): Frontiers in crustacean neurobiology (Der gegenwärtige Forschungsstand in der Neurobiologie der Crustazeen). Menzel , R., & A. Mercer (1987): Neurobiology and behavior of honeybees (Neurobiologie und Verhalten der Honigbiene). Browman , H. I., ed. (1989): Functional development of sensory systems and acquisition of behavior in fish larvae (Entwicklung von Sinnessystemen und Verhalten bei Fischlarven). Zabka , H. (1990): Tarnung und Täuschung bei Pflanzen und Tieren (Camouflage and deception in plants and animals).     

Precursor cells of oligodendrocytes in rat primary cultures

In monolayer primary cultures of brain from newborn rats, which contain astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, a new morphological cell type (flat black cells) was observed. Microphotographs of different areas of the monolayer, taken every 30 min, showed that these flat black cells can divide and that they undergo morphological transformation in vitro. They give rise to oligodendrocytes which were identified by their characteristics morphology but also by their content of W1 Wolfgram protein. These findings suggest that the flat black cells are precursors for oligodendrocytes, in culture.     

Characterization of a cDNA clone for the nonspecific cross-reacting antigen (NCA) and a comparison of NCA and carcinoembryonic antigen

NCA (nonspecific cross-reacting antigen), a glycoprotein found in normal lung and spleen, is immunologically related to carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), which is found in over 95% of colon adenocarcinomas. From a human genomic library, we previously cloned part of an NCA gene and showed that the amino-terminal region has extensive sequence homology to CEA (Thompson, J. A., Pande, H., Paxton, R. J., Shively, L., Padma, A., Simmer, R. L., Todd, Ch. W., Riggs, A. D., and Shively, J.E. (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S.A. 84, 2965-2969). We now present the nucleotide sequence of a cDNA clone, containing the entire coding region of NCA (clone 9). The clone was obtained from a lambda gt 10 library made from the colon carcinoma cell line SW 403; the clone contains a 34-amino acid leader sequence, 310 amino acids for the mature protein, and 1.4 kilobases of 3'-untranslated region of the NCA gene. A comparison of the NCA sequence to the CEA sequence (Oikawa, S., Nakazato, H., and Kosaki, G. (1987) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 142, 511-518; Zimmerman, W., Ortlieb, B., Friedrich, R., and von Kleist, S. (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 84, 2690-2694) shows that both proteins contain doublets of an immunoglobulin-like domain, of which there are one copy in NCA and three copies in CEA, a 108-amino acid amino-terminal domain with no cysteine residues, and a carboxyl-terminal hydrophobic domain of sufficient length to anchor the glycoproteins in the cell membrane. Overall, the corresponding coding regions possess 85% sequence homology at the amino acid level and 90% homology at the nucleotide level. Forty nucleotides 3' of their stop codons, the CEA and NCA cDNAs become dissimilar. The 108-amino acid amino-terminal region together with part of the leader peptide sequence corresponds exactly to a single exon described in our previous work. The data presented here further demonstrate the likelihood that CEA recently evolved from NCA by gene duplication, including two duplications of the immunoglobulin-like domain doublet of NCA.     

Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Edmunds , L. N. (1988): Cellular and molecular bases of biological clocks. Models and mechanisms for circadian timekeeping (Zelluläre und molekulare Grundlagen biologischer Uhren. Modelle und Mechanismen circadianer Zeitregelung). Stetson , M. H., ed. (1987): Processing of environmental information in vertebrates (Die Wirkung von Umwelteinflüssen auf Wirbeltiere). Poncin , P. (1988): Le contrôle environnemental et hormonal de la reproduction du barbeau, Barbus barbus (L.) et du chevaine, Leuciscus cephalus (L.) (Pisces Cyprinidae), en captivité (Die exogene und hormonelle Kontrolle der Fortpflanzung in Gefangenschaft bei Barbe und Döbel). Miura , T., ed. (1987): Seasonality of birth. Progress in biometeorology Vol. 6 (Die Saisonalität der Geburt. Fortschritte der Biometeorologie Bd. 6). Thorndyke , M. C., & G. J. Goldsworthy, eds. (1988): Neurohormones in invertebrates (Neurohormone bei Wirbellosen). Society for Experimental Biology. Descoins , C., & B. Frerot, eds. (1988): Médiateurs chimiques: comportement et systématique des Lépidoptères. Applications en agronomie (Chemical mediators: behaviour and systematics of Lepidoptera. Applications in agriculture). Fritzsch , B., M. J. Ryan , W. Wilczynski, T. E. Hetherington , & W. Walkowiak, eds. (1988): The evolution of the amphibian auditory system (Evolution des Gehörsystems der Amphibien). Akoev , G. N., N. P. Alekseev , & B. V. Krylov (1988): Mechanoreceptors. Their functional organization (Mechanorezeptoren und ihre Wirkungsweise). Seelen , W. v., G. Shaw , & U. M. Leinhos, eds. (1988): Organization of neural networks; structures and models (Analysen und Modelle zur Gehirnfunktion). Geschwind , N., & A. M. Galaburda, eds. (1984): Cerebral dominance. The biological foundations (Biologische Grundlagen der Hemisphärendominanz). Pöldinger , W., ed. (1987): Aspekte menschlichen Befindens und Verhaltens (Aspects of human feeling and behaviour). Wolf , G., ed. (1989): Fachlexikon ABC Neurobiologie (Dictionary of neurobiology).     

Books

C ollar , N.J. & A ndrew , P. 1988. Birds to Watch: The ICBP Check-list of Threatened Birds.
D allmann , M. 1987. Der Zaunkönig.
F iuczynski , D. 1987. Der Baumfalke. Die Neue Brehm-Bücherei No. 575.
F ry , C.H., K eith , S. & U rban , E.K. 1988. The Birds of Africa, Vol. III.
F urness , R.W. 1987. The Skuas.
H ölzinger , J. 1987. Die Vögel Baden-Württembergs 1 (Parts 1–3).
J ohnson , T.H. 1988. Biodiversity and Conservation in the Caribbean: Profiles of Selected Islands.
K laus , S., A ndreev , A.V., B ergmann , H.-H., M üller , F., P orkert , J. & W iesner , J. 1986. Die Auerhiihner. Die Neue Brehm-Biicherei No. 86.
P yle , P., H owell , S.N.G., Y unick , R.P. & D e S ante , D.F. 1987. Identification Guide to North American Passerines.
S now , D. & B. 1988. Birds and Berries.
SOVON 1987 (eds. J. B ekhuis (et al.). Atlas van de Nederlandse Vogels.
Nederlandse Broedvogels (1979). A long English summary at the end enables readers unfamiliar with Dutch to extract the maximum possible amount of information from this impressive work.
T oivanen , A. & T oivanen , P. (eds) Avian Immunology: Basis and Practice. 2 volumes.