NF-kappaB: Biology and Pathology

Keystone Symposia, Silverthorne CO

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The meeting will be focused on functions and mechanisms of signal-induced regulation of the NF-kappaB transcription factors in health and disease. It is a multidisciplinary meeting because NF-kappaB has critical roles in many biological situations, including development, host defense and stress response, and in many disease states, including inflammation, autoimmunity, cancer, diabetes, and transplant rejection. Presentations on the distantly related NFAT transcription factor will add to the multidisciplinary approach. The meeting's emphasis will be on deeper appreciation of the integrated roles of NF-kappaB in the whole organism and on novel signal - and context-specific aspects of NF-kappaB that may permit development of targeted therapeutic intervention in disease. Participants should come away with an understanding of the activation mechanisms and functions of NF-kappaB in various biologic contexts, including innate immunity. They should also gain insight into the multiple modes of regulation that govern NF-kappaB activity, including recently discovered mechanisms of regulation at the promoter/chromatin level. Participants will furthermore examine new mechanisms by which NF-kappaB can be inappropriately activated in disease, and the contributions NF-kappaB makes to disease, such as prevention of apoptosis in tumorigenesis. Attendees will be able to identify novel aspects of NF-kappaB that could become targets for therapeutic intervention and they will be informed on the latest translational medicine approaches and clinical trials. Finally, participants will be afforded a unique opportunity to develop new collaborations, especially so because of the diverse backgrounds represented, ranging from basic to applied science and medicine, and covering multiple disciplines, including immunobiology, inflammation, signal transduction, chromatin regulation and cancer. Students will greatly benefit from exposure to many different biological processes, diseases and scientific approaches.