Intracellular checkpoint controls constitute a network of signal transduction pathways that protect cells from external stresses and internal errors by means of cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, or apoptosis. Failure of this machinery can lead to embryonic death, genetic diseases, and cancer. In Checkpoint Controls and Cancer, Volume 2: Activation and Regulation Protocols, Axel H. Sch?nthal, PhD, marshals a prestigious panel of researchers working at the cutting edges of their fields to present readily reproducible experimental protocols for the study of the molecular components of checkpoint controls and their regulation. Described in step-by-step detail, these powerful techniques offer such novel approaches as the use of genome databases and siRNA to analyze how cells of the human body can escape proper surveillance to grow into a tumor. Additional experimental methods are provided for the manipulation of checkpoint pathways and the analysis of the resulting consequences for the cellular phenotype. The earlier first volume, Reviews and Model Systems, comprehensively describes the complexities of checkpoint controls and the model systems available to study them.
Comprehensive and up-to-date, the two volumes of Checkpoint Controls and Cancer offer novice and experienced researchers alike not only entr? into the complexities of this vast field, but also to the full panoply of productive tools needed to deepen understanding of the systems, as well as to develop new and more effective therapies.