This volume contains a series of reviews that are c- cerned with how epithelial plasma membranes regulate the transport of solutes between the intracellular and extracellular compartments of a cell.

The general theme of Epithelial Transport Physiology is epithelial transport of molecules and ions, which includes the regulation of these mechanisms either directly, through secondary messengers, or via nuclear commands. Biologic transport of ions and, or, molecules across epithelial bio-membranes are mediated by proteins or protein-based molecules. Over the past forty to forty-five years, the primary structures of many of these proteins have been elucidated. One of the universalities that has emerged during this investigative process is the commonality of function amongst epithelial transporters up and down the phylogenetic tree of animals. The central subject of Epithelial Transport Physiology is to provide a comprehensive, contemporary review of epithelial transport and the responsible transporter proteins, while elucidating the wide spectrum of new methods examining epithelial transporters such as patch clamping, reconstitution, molecular biology and molecular physiology that are now available for the application to epithelial plasma membrane systems.

Contributors to this volume were chosen by the editor, George A. Gerencser, and were selected for their outstanding accomplishments in the field, and for their clarity and breadth of presentation. Epithelial Transport Physiology is directed to both basic and clinical scientists working in membrane transport and related areas, to graduate students and advanced undergraduates seeking a broad purview of the subject, and to other investigators and potential investigators seeking a vista of the new frontiers of molecular epithelial transporters.

Biological cell membranes regulate the transfer of matter and information between the intracellular and extracellular compartments as basic survival and maintenance functions for an organism. This volume contains a series of reviews that are c- cerned with how epithelial plasma membranes regulate the transport of solutes between the intracellular and extracellular compartments of a cell. This book is also an attempt to analyze the molecular basis for the movement of various solutes across an epithelial cell membrane. This volume is devoted to a diversity of epithelial transport mechanisms in rep- sentative cell membranes of a variety of living things. The ?rst section of the book (Chapters 1–6) focuses on mechanisms of solute transport in epithelia of inver- brates. The last section which comprises ten chapters (Chapters 7–16) deals with solute transporters in epithelial cell membranes of vertebrates. It is hoped that with this particular ordering the reader can glean a telescopic view of the evolutionary history of the various epithelial solute transporters.