Recent advances in our understanding of the fundamental role of
bioactive lipids in normal and abnormal physiology was the theme of the
XVlth International Spring Sympo- 6-9, 1996 at the George Washington
University School sium on Health Sciences held on May of Medicine in
Washington, D.C. Over 250 participants shared their latest findings on
fundamental mechanisms in lipid metabolism, transport, and signal
transduction. Most of the papers presented at the plenary sessions have
been collected in this volume, which is divided into seven parts. The
focus of Part I is on the new roles that fatty acids and esters play in
cellular function. These activities include regulation of gene
expression, control of eicosanoid-me- diated responses, and
intracellular calcium sequestration. Most biological effects of fatty
acids, esters, and phospholipids are transmitted via the interaction of
these lipid molecules with specific lipid binding proteins. The chapters
in Part II detail the involvement of these in the transport of fatty
acids, fatty acyl CoA esters, and phospholipids, and in the proteins
modulation of the fatty acid-induced activation of the peroxisome
proliferator-activated receptors. The study of arachidonic acid
metabolism continues to be the subject of intense interest and research.
A number of studies in Part III deal with the substantial differences
between the constitutive prostaglandin H synthase isozyme (PGHS-l or
COX-I) and the inducible form PGHS-2 (COX-2) regarding compartmentation,
control, and expression.
