Drs. Xander Wehrens and Andrew Marks have gathered the collected wisdom of scientists that have devoted their working lives to the study of ryanodine receptors. In this series of brief, but informative, chapters, the contributions progress from the basic gene family and primary structure, through its 3D structure so far, to its regulation and physiology. The book ends with several chapters on mutations in the receptor that causes disease and their role in adaptation to disease. There are interesting new developments in the control of ryanodine receptors by accessory proteins, the latest of which is the proposed role of leaky RyR channels in causing delayed after depolarizations, a cause of lethal ventricular arrhythmias. The series of reviews in Ryanodine Receptors: Structure, Function and Dysfunction in Clinical Disease will bring anyone rapidly up to speed in current progress in the field, as well as highlight remaining questions.
David E. Clapham, MD, PhD
Professor of Neurobiology and Pediatrics
Harvard Medical School