TRP Channels, From Sensory Signaling to Human Disease

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Funds are requested to cover partial support for a conference on TRP Channels, From Sensory Signaling to Human Disease, to be held at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden (Sept. 26-27, 2009). TRPs are global sensory detectors, enabling us to sense tastants, mechanical stimuli, and environmental chemicals, changes in temperature and in some animals, light and pheromones. Defects in TRP channels underlie many diseases, including the childhood neurodegenerative disorder, MLIV. Excessive activities of TRP channels cause certain forms of chronic pain, and are associated with several cardiovascular diseases, and the ischemic cell death following stroke. In addition to diseases affecting the central and peripheral nervous systems, defects in TRP channels affect other tissues and cause autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease and other diseases. However, the therapies for diseases due to perturbation of TRP activity are very limited and many questions remain concerning the modes of activation of these channels. The goal of this conference, which is the only meeting focusing on TRP channels in 2009, is to provide a forum for scientists from a diversity of fields to present and discuss the latest exciting developments in the field. We have attracted both established and young scientists to this conference who do not ordinarily attend the same meeting and have limited interactions. This includes scientists working on many systems and model organisms, ranging from worms to flies, mice and humans. In addition, the invited scientists have a broad diversity of technical expertise, such as biophysics, cell biology, genetics and biochemistry. We expect the informal setting and relatively modest size of the meeting (~150 participants) to promote lively discussions and new interactions among established scientists and younger, emerging scientists. The meeting will include five seminar sessions, and a poster session covering topics ranging from temperature sensation and pain pathways to taste, vision, neurodegeneration, cardiac and kidney disease and diabetes, drug addiction and synaptic transmission. One of the major challenges, which will be discussed, is the development of therapeutic strategies for treating human diseases due to defects in TRP channels.