ATP-dependent active ion transport enables cells to regulate their pH value and to control their ion composition. The reverse process, transforming an ion imbalance into chemical energy, drives mitochondrial and chloroplast ATP synthesis. The mediators of these fundamental processes are ion-motive ATPases, highly conserved enzymes that play key roles in cell physiology from bacteria to man.
As the first comprehensive overview of this important class of enzymes, this handbook summarizes recent knowledge about the molecular mechanism of ATPases, relating this information to the physiology and pathopyhsiology of ion transport, mitochondrial function, vesicle transport and lysosomal acidification. All important P-type, F-type and V-type ATPases are treated systematically, complemented by a special section on the cell biology and physiology of acidic compartments, and backed by an extensive bibliography and index.
This premier reference source for physiologists, molecular biologists, biophysicists and clinical researchers contains contributions by the world's foremost ATPase research groups.

About the Author: Masamitsu Futai is Professor of Biochemistry at Osaka University (Japan) and a Research Scientist at the Microbial Chemistry Center, Tokyo. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Kwangju Institute of Science and Technology (Republic of Korea). A native of Tokyo, he obtained his PhD degree from the University of Tokyo. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin and Cornell University where he worked with Gerald Mueller and Leon A. Hepell, respectively. He joined the faculty of Okayama University in 1977, and moved to Osaka University in 1985. He is interested in the ATP synthase, the vesicular proton pump ATPase and acidic organelles such as lysosomes.

Yoh Wada is Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Osaka University (Japan). He obtained his PhD degree from the University of Tokyo and was a post-doctoral fellow at Rockefeller University where he worked with Gerald M. Edelman. He became an Assistant Professor at the University of Tokyo in 1992, and subsequently an Associate Professor at Osaka University. He is interested in organelle biogenesis, vesicle fusion and bioenergetics. He is also an expert of yeast and mouse genetics.

Jack Kaplan is the Benjamin Goldberg Professor and Head of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was born and educated in England, where he received the PhD in Biophysics from London University. He has held faculty positions at the University of Iowa, the University of Pennsylvania and Oregon Health & Sciences University. He is interested in many aspects of membrane protein function with particular emphasis on ion pumps, as well as the application of chemical approaches to cellular physiology and biophysics. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, in 1995.