Structural Biology and Activation Mechanisms of Membrane Receptors Organizer(s): Pierre De Meyts, Briony E. Forbes and Tom L. Blundell Date: September 16 - 21, 2008
Location: St. John's College - Cambridge, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United KingdomConsiderable progress has been made in understanding the structure and function of membrane receptors and receptor signaling complexes since the first radioligand binding studies nearly four decades ago. The structures of the extracellular domains of many receptors in diverse classes are now available. However, the structural data have not always provided unambiguous information as to what the relevant physiological structure is or the precise nature of the binding and activation mechanism. To get the full picture, it is necessary to integrate structural information, biochemical and molecular biology approaches such as site-directed mutagenesis, photoaffinity crosslinking and bioluminescence resonance energy transfer, kinetics, and mathematical modeling. This symposium brings together experts in these various disciplines, both seasoned and fresh, for an open-minded debate on how to realize this integrative approach. A strong theme of the meeting is that there are more similarities than previously estimated between the mechanisms of activation of various classes of receptors. The study of the biological evolution of the ligand and receptor families and signal transduction mechanisms also provides key information on highly conserved modules. Finally, the promises and challenges in translating our knowledge of the structural biology of membrane receptor signaling to drug discovery will be discussed. Scholarship Deadline: May 15 2008 Discounted Abstract Deadline: June 17 2008 Abstract Deadline: July 17 2008 Discounted Registration Deadline: July 17 2008 We gratefully acknowledge additional support for this conference from:  We gratefully acknowledge additional in-kind support for this conference from those foregoing speaker expense reimbursements:
Novo Nordisk A/S
|