BIOCHEMICAL SOCIETY TRANSACTIONS
988
Introduction to Drug Metabolism
G. GORDON GIBSON and PAUL SKETT
Chapman and Hall, London, 1986, pp. 293, €12.95
Drug metabolism is often perceived as a rather nebulous
area, and, although this book presents a useful introduction
to the various metabolic pathways involved, as the topic is
developed many aspects become repetitive and finally a little
woolly.
The first two chapters deal with the various metabolic
pathways involved in the biotransformation of drugs and
other xenobiotics, while the remainder of the book examines
factors that affect these processes. Although much is
made of drug metabolism as a mechanism for facilitating
excretion, it is unfortunate that there is no background to
the anatomy or physiology of the various excretory routes
discussed. The phase I and phase I1 enzyme systems are well
described, albeit somewhat dated. It is unfortunate that a
book published in 1986 makes so little reference to the
influence that cDNA and genomic cloning have made on
our understanding of the structure and regulation of drugmetabolizing enzymes. In addition, the distribution of space
to certain topics is not always well-balanced. Thus, there is
much detail on type 1 and type I1 cytochrome P-450 spectra
and the spin state of iron in the various reaction intermediates, yet little discussion of models of coupling of
cytochrome P-450 to intermediary redox proteins and, for
example, sidedness of glucuronyltransferase (and potential
transport problems associated with cytoplasmic production
of UDP-glucuronic acid) which might be regarded as conceptually important.
Chapters 3 to 6 contain much that is repetitive and are far
woolier than the first two. The second on pharmacokinetics
could usefully be expanded with some worked examples.
The inclusion of experimental protocols is a nice idea; however, for several of the experiments there is not enough
detail. In summary, the authors have correctly identified an
area where there is a need for a good introductory text;
unfortunately this well-presented book only goes part way
to filling this niche.
T. J . MANTLE
Growth Factors in Biology and Medicine, Ciba Foundation Symposium 116
DAVID EVERED, JONATHAN NUGENT and
JULIE WHELAN (Editors)
Pitman, London, 1985, pp. 283, f27.95
This volume contains the proceedings of a recent (January
1985) Ciba Foundation Symposium. It contains 14 articles
by experts in the growth factor field, some of which are
essentially reviews while others present detailed research
results. In addition, transcripts of the extensive discussions
held at the meeting are included. The coverage is fairly
comprehensive, with chapters devoted to most of the wellcharacterized polypeptide growth factors, including epidermal growth factor (EGF), platelet-derived growth factor
(PDGF), nerve growth factor (NGF), insulin-like growth
factors (IGFs) and haemopoietic growth factors. Several
chapters deal with less-well characterized growth factors,
and indeed inhibitory factors. The emphasis is on the biological roles of growth factors and on the mechanisms by
which they act. Despite the title there is little direct emphasis
on medical applications until the final discussion, though
the role that growth factors may play in processes such as
control of mitogenesis, wound healing and somatic growth
are well discussed and of obvious medical relevance.
The approaches taken to the different growth factors are
rather varied. Thus, while chapters on PDGF, N G F and
IGFs include detailed evaluation of the physiological functions of these peptides, there is little on the biological role of
EGF. On the other hand, the mechanism of action, especially the role of receptors, is treated in detail for some growth
factors, especially EGF, but not for others, such as the
IGFs. Such variation in approach is probably inevitable in
a symposium volume of this kind, but a more tightly controlled theme might have suited many readers better.
The transcripts of discussions at the meeting comprise
30-40% of the text. These are usually interesting but their
usefulness to the reader would have been increased by a
more structured presentation, with subheadings of the type
used in the final discussion and sometimes a few words of
explanation from the editors. In a few places the reader is
confused by a discussion which appears largely divorced
from the paper which it accompanies. More importantly,
in several places major new topics are introduced in the
discussion. The reader can only find these by scanning
the whole text; use of subheadings would have made such
material much more accessible, especially if these were
included in the list of contents.
The chapters in this book are generally well written and
illustrated, and the overall presentation is good. The book
will undoubtedly be of interest to anyone working in the
area of growth factors. It also provides a useful, up-to-date
survey for those with a less direct involvement, provided
that they recognize that the survey is a rather incomplete
one.
M. WALLIS
Amino Acid Metabolism
DAVID A. BENDER
John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 1985, pp. 263, f24.00
This book describes and discusses the metabolism of the
amino acids together with the biochemistry of a range of
compounds derived from the amino acids or associated with
their metabolism. I approached it with reservations as to
how interesting such a specialized account of amino acid
metabolism would be likely to be, despite being interested in
metabolism in general and in that of the amino acids in
particular. It was therefore a pleasant surprise when the
book proved to be very readable, the metabolism being
enlivened by medical and nutritional correlations, and by
diversions into related areas of biochemistry.
The first two chapters deal with the fixation, assimilation
and excretion of nitrogen and with protein turnover in
mammals; included are descriptions of pyrimidine and purine nucleotide synthesis and catabolism and a section on
protein nutrition. The third chapter is a rather limited
account of the transport of amino acids through mem1986