New book on lipid biology by Kai Simons, Max Planck Institute

As the major structural component of cell membranes, lipids not only serve as barriers but also play active roles in cellular function. The fission and fusion of lipid membranes underlies the majority of protein trafficking in cells. Lipids are also critical in signal transduction; the interconversion of membrane-localized and soluble species is central to numerous signaling pathways that connect cell-surface receptors with intracellular effectors.

Written and edited by experts in the field, Biology of Lipids: Trafficking, Regulation, and Function from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology provides a comprehensive review of lipid biology. The contributors explore the synthesis, metabolism, and distribution of lipid species in the cell; the composition of lipid rafts and their roles in protein trafficking and signaling; and the biophysical behavior of lipids and membranes. They also discuss models and techniques to study lipid dynamics and to characterize cellular lipidomes.

Including discussions of diseases in which lipids play a role and the functions of lipids in virus replication, this volume is an indispensable reference for biochemists, cell and molecular biologists, and biophysicists interested in lipid biology.

Provided by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory