How the Hedgehog Outfoxed the Crab -- The Patched Receptor -- Making a Morphogenetic Gradient -- Spatial and Temporal Regulation of Hair Follicle Progenitors by Hedgehog Signaling -- Mode of PTCH1/Ptch1-Associated Tumor Formation -- Basal Cell Carcinomas, Hedgehog Signaling, and the Ptch1+/- Mouse -- GLI Genes and Their Targets in Epidermal Development and Disease -- Splitting Hairs -- Shh Expression in Pulmonary Injury and Disease -- Human Correlates of GLI3 Function -- From Oligodactyly to Polydactyly -- The Genetics of Indian Hedgehog -- Sonic Hedgehog Signaling in Craniofacial Development -- Important Role of Shh Controlling Gli3 Functions during the Dorsal-Ventral Patterning of the Telencephalon -- Regulation of Early Events in Cell Cycle Progression by Hedgehog Signaling in CNS Development and Tumorigenesis -- Modulating the Hedgehog Pathway in Diseases -- Hedgehog Signaling in Endodermally Derived Tumors.

Hedgehog-GLI Signaling in Human Disease represents the first compilation of up-to-date reviews by top-level scientists in this important field of research. The chapters cover a wide spectrum of related interests, from the molecular bases of morphogen function, to human genetics to cancer research. The aim of the book is to disseminate information on this exciting field, to allow students, scientists and the public in general to gain access current information from research leaders and to provide a book that encompasses different aspects of research showing the fusion of basic research in model systems and medicine. This is a timely primer on how a system of cell communication, Hedgehog-GLI signaling, plays a critical role in human disease and thus provides the background for the development of novel and rational therapies.