A guide to methods of identification and characterization of the molecules that mediate cellular interactions in a variety of systems. Methods are included for preparing probes, analyzing adhesive and junctional interactions, and determining functionally important structural features of molecules.

The type of communication between a cell and its immediate environment defines, to a large extent, the phenotype of that cell; it also determines the structure and function of the tissues and organs of which the cell is a part. This book describes the methods essential to the identification and characterization of the molecules that mediate cellular interactions in a variety of systems. Included are methods for preparing relevant probes, analyzing adhesive and junctional interactions in multicellular organizations, determining which structural features of a relevant molecule are functionally important, and for assaying the consequences of cell-cell interactions in cell culture. "Cell-cell Culture" aims to provide practical information relating to this area of cell biology. This book should therefore be useful to a range of biological scientists wishing to investigate the mechanisms and consequences of cellular interactions in their system of choice.