Conference: Thiol-Based Redox Regulation & Signaling Gordon Research Conference, May 9-14, 2010, Il Ciocco, Italy

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

Intellectual Merit: The 3rd Gordon Research Conference on Thiol-based Redox Regulation and Signaling will be held May 9-14, 2010 at Il Ciocco in Italy. Life began in a reducing environment. With the appearance of oxygen in the atmosphere, cells had to evolve the ability to prevent and survive damage by this oxidizing species. At the same time cells took advantage of this new chemistry and developed novel redox reactions, impinging on the regulation of most fundamental aspects of life: metabolic control, signaling, aging and death. Recent data has found that an increasing number of cellular functions and impairments are redox regulated. Redox processes are now known to be involved in many aspects of agricultural and biological sciences. The special chemistry of thiol groups within proteins (in the amino acid cysteine) and small molecules (including glutathione) is a key component in the redox control of biological processes. Modifications of such thiol groups can act as molecular switches and reversible thiol oxidation occurs in various phosphatases, kinases and transcription factors. Therefore, thiol-based redox chemistry is linked to cellular signal transduction, apoptosis, gene regulation, cell cycle control and other processes and pathways. Thiol-containing proteins also function as major cellular antioxidants and are critical for protecting bacteria, plants, and animals from oxidative damage. Misregulation of thiol-based redox homeostasis has major implications for cellular dysfunction. This Conference offers a multidisciplinary venue in which plant and animal biologists, chemists, mathematicians, biophysicists, and clinicians will convene to discuss the mechanistic and physiological implications of thiol-based chemistry, a key regulatory element found in all kingdoms from bacteria to plants and animals. The intellectual environment offered by the GRC attracts the brightest and the most interactive members of the community and fosters the exchange of ideas in this rapidly developing field. The ideas and hypotheses developed at this conference will continue to advance the field of thiol-based redox regulation and will also contribute significantly to the larger scientific community interested in understanding how post-translational protein modifications can regulate the complex metabolic and regulatory pathways of cells and organisms. Broader impacts: This conference is in its third cycle after two very successful meetings in the U.S. and Italy in 2006 and 2008. The chair and vice-chair for this meeting are a physician scientist and a basic researcher, respectively, and are representative of the biologists, physicists, chemists and mathematicians working in various aspects of the field. As the importance of thiol-based redox regulation is becoming more widely appreciated, this conference is expected to accelerate progress in the field by providing a venue for the free exchange of ideas and methodologies. Funding from the NSF will enhance the opportunities available for conference participation by students, postdocs and other junior investigators, including members of underrepresented groups in the sciences. In addition to providing updates on new findings in the field, it is expected that the conference will both enhance existing, and foster new interactions across a range of institutions and disciplines.