With chapter contributions from more than 30 metal biology experts, Cellular and Molecular Biology of Metals explains the role of key divalent metal ions involved in the molecular and cellular biology of various target cell populations. Although it primarily focuses on homeostatic metals, such as nickel, zinc, and chromium, the text also discusses a few environmentally pertinent, toxic divalent cations, including mercury, cadmium, and arsenic.This authoritative resource reviews the physiological mechanisms underlying the handling of essential and toxic metal ions, including metal ion homeostasis, metals and enzyme activity, metals and transcriptional regulation, and metal ion transport. It also analyzes other functions designed to avoid metal-induced toxicity and mediate the metal enhancement of cellular function. The role of metal ions and their effect on mammalian cells and organs are only beginning to be truly defined. Cellular and Molecular Biology of Metals arms metals toxicologists and cellular and molecular biologists with the necessary knowledge they need to take the research effort to the next level.


Rudolfs K. Zalups, PhD, trained as a fellow and instructor at the Mayo Clinic, Yale University School of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He is now a professor at the Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Georgia.James Koropatnick, PhD, is a Distinguished Oncology Scientist, Director of the LRCP Cancer Research Laboratory Program, Director of the UWO/CIHR Strategic Training Program in Cancer Research and Technology Transfer, Assistant Director of the Lawson Health Research Institute, and a Full Professor in the UWO Department of Oncology with cross-appointments in the UWO Departments of Microbiology and Immunology, Physiology and Pharmacology, and Pathology. He is also the Chief Scientific Officer of Sarissa, Inc. (a biotech discovery company) and sits on the Advisory Boards of Critical Outcomes Therapeutics, Inc., ID Laboratories, Inc., and MedVax Pharma, Inc.