Proteins and Nucleic Acids

Submicroscopic Cytochemistry, Volume I: Proteins and Nucleic Acids presents laboratory findings and theoretical aspects involved or derived from submicroscopic cytochemistry study of proteins and nucleic acids. It is a two-volume book, encompassing 14 chapters covering three major topics: the pattern of distribution of nucleic acids at the molecular level in various cells and states of activity and in relation to protein synthesis; the molecular and macromolecular organization of cellular membranes; and the origin and distribution of the major macromolecular aggregates of connective tissue. After a brief introduction to the aspects of submicroscopic cytochemistry, the book discusses morphology, with emphasis on the distribution of cell components and their organization in cells at the macromolecular level. It then presents developed methods to preserve and selectively identify proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, acid mucopolysaccharides, and molecular aggregates very nearly in the position they occupied in the living state. Chapters 8 to 12 describe DNA molecular patterns during cell differentiation and cell maturation, and the alteration of these patterns in certain mouse cells. A discussion on DNA molecular patterns during metaplasia of stratified squamous mouse epithelium and of spinal ganglion cells during regeneration is provided. The concluding chapters examine DNA organization during mitotic cycle in Drosophila eggs and the persistence of chromosome individuality during interphase. This book is a valuable source of information for cytochemists, cell biologists, cell researchers, and protein nucleic acid enthusiasts who wish to expand their knowledge on comprehensive cytochemistry laboratory study.