Epithelial Organization and Development

Epithelia are one of the commonest tissue types in the animal kingdom. Chapters from leading scientists in the major international research laboratories use examples from different systems to illustrate the form and function of epithelia. An important theme is the way in which epithelial cells differentiate to specialized tissue - reversal of this process occurs when cells become tumorigenic.

Intercellular junctions and cell adhesion in epithelial cells, David Garrod and Jane Collins; shaping an epithelial cell - the role of cell adhesion molecules in the reorganization of the membrane-cytoskeleton, Helen McNeill and W.James Nelson; biogenetic pathways and targeting signals in polarized epithelia, Sharon Powell and Enrique Rodriguez-Boulan; trophectodem biogenesis in the preimplantation mouse embryo, Tom Fleming; the formation and fate of the blastoderm epithelium of the drosophila embryo, Richard Warn and Michel Robert-Nicoud; development of kidney epithelial cells, Lydia Sorokin et al; development of the insect malpighian tubule, Helen Skaer; the establishment and maintenance of hepatocyte surface polarity, James Bartles; cytoskeletal components in intestinal brush border morphogenesis - an evaluation of their function, Monique Arpin and Evelyne Friederich; the role of yolk sac and gut epithelial cells in maternal immunoglobin transport, Arthur Wild; cell adhesion and the basement membrane in early epidemic morphogenesis, William Carter et al; functional interplay between ECM and ECM-degrading proteinases in the mammary gland - a co-ordinate system for regulating mammary epithelial function, Rabih Talhouk et al; salivary epithelium branching morphogenesis, Patricia Hardman and Brian Spooner.