countries, and are best characterised as progress reports. Particularly valu- 

 able are the group discussions following each paper. 



As evident from its title, the papers in section I deal not only with ery- 

 throcytes but also with various other hemopoietic cell lines. The free com- 

 munications deal with various pathological conditions, with Kupffer cells, 

 and with some methodological questions. Each is followed by one or more com- 

 mentaries by other authors, and replies to these. 



The volume is well produced and the photographic illustrations are excel- 

 lent. 



83. 



B.SERROU and C.ROSENFELD, eds . 1978. HUMAN LYMPHOCYTE DIFFERENTIATION: ITS 



APPLICATION TO CANCER 



Elsevier/North-Holland Biomed. Press, Amsterdam, etc. INSERM Symposium 8. 



XVIII, 423 pp., 89 figs., 112 tabs., index to contrib. $ 57.75, Dfl. 130.00 



Contents (abridged) : Experimental basis to be applied in humans (8 papers). 

 Differentiation of human B and T lymphocytes (10) , Null cells? K cell ac- 

 tivity? (10) , Gene expression of differentiation (7) , Substances modulating 

 the differentiation (5) , Normal and leukaemia cell lines as models of dif- 

 c ferentiation (7) , Applications in cancer (9) 



This truly international symposium was held at Montpellier, France in 

 March 1978. There were close to 100 participants, about half of whom were 

 from France and the remainder from a broad range of European countries and 

 the U.S.A. The large majority of the 55 papers are (usually brief) research 

 reports. No discussions are recorded. The symposium does not claim to be 

 comprehensive of the entire field of lymphocyte differentiation, and much of 

 the material is clinical in nature. 



The papers were reproduced from typescripts without editing. The volume is 

 well printed and illustrated. 



DEVELOPMENTAL BIOCHEMISTRY, MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (see also 7,72,75,76,77,78,79, 



81,83) 



Textbooks 



84. 



L.NOVER, M.LUCKNER and B.PARTHIER, eds. 1978. ZELLDIFFERENZIERUNG, molekulare 



Grundlagen und Probleme 



Fischer, Jena. 582 pp., 162 figs., 31 tabs., subject index. M 79.00 (paper) 



Contributors: Berg, Heese, Krauspe, Luckner, Muntz, Nover, Parthier, Rein- 

 bothe, Richter, Rindt, Serfling, Witte, Wollgiehn 



This multi-author textbook was written for advanced students and young re- 

 searchers. It is based on a unified concept of cytodif ferentiation, which is 

 defined as all processes (in all kinds of organisms) by which cells become 

 different as a result of selective expression of the same genetic informa- 

 tion. The process of differentiation in its molecular aspects is emphasised 

 throughout; it also includes cell division, metabolic adaptation of cells, 

 and terminal cell specialisation. Such subjects as embryonic differentiation, 

 cell interaction and pattern formation are not included. 



All co-authors are East-Germans and most are either botanists or bio-medi- 

 cal scientists. After introductory chapters on the biochemistry of gene ex- 

 pression (35 pp.) and on the historical development of concepts, there is a 

 general chapter of almost 100 pages on the molecular basis of cell differen- 

 tiation. This is didactically very clear and can be read as a short text in 

 its own right; it has a separate section on programmes of gene expression. 

 It is followed by 13 shorter chapters (average length ca. 30 pp.) which each 

 focus on a particular experimental system. The systems range from E. aoli , 



234 



