Lipids In Health And Disease (subcellular Biochemistry)
by Xiaoyuan Wang /
2008 / English / PDF
11.3 MB Download
Lipids are functionally versatile molecules. They have evolved from
relatively simple hydrocarbons that serve as depot storages of
metabolites and barriers to the permeation of solutes into complex
compounds that perform a variety of signalling functions in higher
organisms. This volume is devoted to the polar lipids and their
constituents. We have omitted the neutral lipids like fats and oils
because their function is generally to act as deposits of
metabolizable substrates. The sterols are also outside the scope of
the present volume and the reader is referred to volume 28 of this
series which is the subject of cholesterol. The polar lipids are
comprised of fatty acids attached to either glycerol or
sphingosine. The fatty acids themselves constitute an important
reservoir of substrates for conversion into families of signalling
and modulating molecules including the eicosanoids amongst which
are the prostaglandins, thromboxanes and leucotrienes. The way
fatty acid metabolism is regulated in the liver and how fatty acids
are desaturated are subjects considered in the first part of this
volume. This section also deals with the modulation of protein
function and inflammation by unsaturated fatty acids and their
derivatives. New insights into the role of fatty acid synthesis and
eicosenoid function in tumour progression and metastasis are
presented.
Lipids are functionally versatile molecules. They have evolved from
relatively simple hydrocarbons that serve as depot storages of
metabolites and barriers to the permeation of solutes into complex
compounds that perform a variety of signalling functions in higher
organisms. This volume is devoted to the polar lipids and their
constituents. We have omitted the neutral lipids like fats and oils
because their function is generally to act as deposits of
metabolizable substrates. The sterols are also outside the scope of
the present volume and the reader is referred to volume 28 of this
series which is the subject of cholesterol. The polar lipids are
comprised of fatty acids attached to either glycerol or
sphingosine. The fatty acids themselves constitute an important
reservoir of substrates for conversion into families of signalling
and modulating molecules including the eicosanoids amongst which
are the prostaglandins, thromboxanes and leucotrienes. The way
fatty acid metabolism is regulated in the liver and how fatty acids
are desaturated are subjects considered in the first part of this
volume. This section also deals with the modulation of protein
function and inflammation by unsaturated fatty acids and their
derivatives. New insights into the role of fatty acid synthesis and
eicosenoid function in tumour progression and metastasis are
presented.