Regulation of TGF-b Receptors -- Determining TGF-β Receptor Levels in the Cell Membrane -- Post-translational Modifications of TGF-b Receptors -- Production, Isolation，and Structural Analysis of Ligands and Receptors of the TGF-b Superfamily -- Phosphorylation of Smads by Intracellular Kinases -- Analysis of Smad Phosphatase Activity in vitro -- Three-dimensional Mammary Epithelial Cell Morphogenesis Model for Analysis of TGF-b Signaling -- TGF-β Signaling in Stem Cell Regulation -- Analysis of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Induced by Transforming Growth Factor β -- In vitro Th differentiation protocol -- Interrogating TGF-b Function and Regulation in Endothelial Cells -- Isolation and Manipulation of Adipogenic Cells to Assess TGF-b Superfamily Functions -- Imaging TGFb Signaling in Mouse Models of Cancer Metastasis -- Generation and Characterization of Smad7 Conditional Knockout Mice -- Monitoring Smad Activity in vivo Using the Xenopus Model System -- Animal Cap Assay for TGF-b Signaling -- Detection of Smad Signaling in Zebrafish Embryos -- Role of TGF-β signaling in Coupling Bone Remodeling -- Studying the Functions of TGF-β Signaling in the Ovary -- Quantitative Real-Time PCR Analysis of MicroRNAs and Their Precursors Regulated by TGF-b Signaling -- TGF-β Regulated microRNAs and Their Function in Cancer Biology -- Epigenomic Regulation Of Smad1 Signaling During Cellular Senescence Induced by Ras Activation -- The Role of Ubiquitination to Determine Non-Smad Signaling Responses -- Genome-wide RNAi Screening to Dissect the TGF-b Signal Transduction Pathway -- Measuring TGF-β Ligand Dynamics in Culture Medium.

This volume details up-to-date information and attempts to take the reader into the exciting realm of TGF-β from the basic principles to the practical applications. Chapters provide basic introduction of TGF-β signaling from the cell surface to the nucleus, methods and techniques for the investigation of TGF-β signaling mechanism including receptors, Smads, intracellular kinases, microRNA, epigenetic regulation, post-translational regulations, non-Smad pathway; the physiological implications including those in cell cycle arrest, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, endothelial cells, adipogenesis, Th differentiation, stem cell, bone remodeling, ovary, zebrofish development, and frog animal capping; and the methodologies including metastasis imaging, 3D morphogenesis, membrane receptor quantification, conditional knockout, bone remodeling, kinase and phosphatase assays, BiFC interaction assays, and genome-wide siRNA screen. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and key tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.   Authoritative and practical, TGF-Beta Signaling: Methods and Protocols aims to ensure successful results in the further study of this vital field.