Plasma Membrane Redox Systems and their Role in Biological Stress and Disease

Oxidation-reduction (i.e. redox) processes at the plasma membrane of any cell have been attracting more and more attention, both in basic and in applied research, since the first workshop dealing with the plasma membrane oxidoreductases was organized in Cordoba, Spain, in 1988. This evolution is evident considering the numerous cell functions performed by plasma membrane redox systems not only in healthy cells but also in cells that escaped from the normal metabolic control (e.g. cancer cells) and cells under attack by pathogens. Plasma membrane redox processes have now been demonstrated to play an essential role in growth control and defense mechanisms of these cells. The great importance of the plasma membrane redox systems originates in the fact that they are located in the membrane which is essentially the site of communication between the living cell and its environment. We may say that the plasma membrane can be considered as the "sensory part" of the cell. No chemical substance can enter the cell interior without interaction with the plasma membrane. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Plasma Membrane b -Type Cytochromes....Pages 1-31 NAD(P)H-Utilizing Flavo-Enzymes in the Plant Plasma Membrane....Pages 33-67 Components and Organisation of the NADPH Oxidase of Phagocytic Cells, the Paradigm for an Electron Transport Chain across the Plasma Membrane....Pages 69-101 Plasma Membrane-Bound Nitrate Reductase in Algae and Higher Plants....Pages 103-119 NADH Oxidase: A Multifunctional Ectoprotein of the Eukaryotic Cell Surface....Pages 121-156 Iron Transport in Yeast: The Involvement of an Iron Reductase and Oxidase....Pages 157-177 Reduction and Uptake of Iron in Plants....Pages 179-192 Involvement of Plasma Membrane Redox Systems in Growth Control of Animal and Plant Cells....Pages 193-213 Possible Sources of Reactive Oxygen during the Oxidative Burst in Plants....Pages 215-246 Antioxidative Role of Ubiquinone in the Animal Plasma Membrane....Pages 247-265 Metal Reduction By Macrophages....Pages 267-277 Plasma Membrane Protein Disulfide Isomerase: Its Role in the Translocation of Diphtheria Toxin and HIV Virus Across Endosomal and Cell Membranes....Pages 279-307 Plasma Membrane Redox Systems in Tumor Cells....Pages 309-324 Back Matter....Pages 325-332

This book provides a comprehensive treatment of the involvement of plasma membrane redox reactions in the origin and development of biological stress and disease. Thirteen chapters, provided by invited specialists, cover the role of plasma membrane redox systems in cell defence (of plant and animal cells), growth control, antioxidative defence reactions, development of tumour cells, entry of toxins and viruses, reduction and uptake of iron and nitrate, and development of atherosclerosis. Each of these chapters deals extensively with the most recent molecular and cell biological developments in these topics, thereby providing new insights and hypotheses on the mechanisms of action. Overview chapters on the nature and molecular properties of redox proteins identified at the plasma membrane of animal, plant and fungal cells are also included. The book should be of prime interest to researchers and students in the fields of animal and plant physiology, cell biology and medicine.

Disc. oxidative burst, iron uptake, nitrate reductase, protein disulfide isomerase, stress.