Conference Program
 
MOLECULAR PHARMACOLOGY

May 8-13, 2005
Il Ciocco Hotel and Resort
Lucca (Barga), Italy

Chair:
Michel Bouvier

Vice Chair:
Mark E. Von Zastrow

Dear Colleagues,

The Molecular Pharmacology Gordon Conference will, in 2005, leave its birth site in California to be held for the first time in Il Ciocco, Italy. This conference, which convenes every two years, is a major event for molecular pharmacologist from both academia and industry and should once more attract the best scientists in the field.

The 2005 conference will begin with dinner and an evening scientific session on Sunday, May 8, and conclude with breakfast on Friday, May 13.

Invited speakers will be encouraged to present their most recent unpublished work and there will be ample time allocated for both formal and informal discussion periods.

In addition to the oral sessions, we are also looking forward to lively and prominently featured poster sessions. We thus encourage all interested scientists to submit their most recent and exciting work for consideration for a poster presentation. The poster will be displayed throughout the meeting and several of the poster presentations will be selected for short talks allowing further discussion of the newest findings in our discipline.

For those of you who never had the chance to attend a meeting in Il Ciocco, I can assure you that this venue, located close to the medieval cities of Barga and Lucca and easily reachable from the Pisa airport, is a formidable site to hold a meeting. The beautiful sceneries surrounding the resort are truly inspiring and very conducive to relax scientific exchanges.

Established investigators, post-doctoral fellow as well as graduate students from all horizons in molecular pharmacology are encouraged to apply for the meeting. Application forms and information about the Il Ciocco conference site are available through the links at the bottom of this page.

Mark and I are looking forward to seeing you in Il Ciocco.

Michel Bouvier, Chair
Molecular Pharmacology 2005 GRC meeting

With thanks to our supporters
(in alphabetical order)

Acadia Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Altana Pharma AG
Berthold Technologies GmbH & Co KG
Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority Fellowships
cis bio International
Genentech, Inc.
Institut de Recherches Servier
Merck & CO., Inc
PerkinElmer Life Science Inc
Sanofi-Aventis
Theravance, Inc

SUNDAY
2:00 pm - 9:00 pmArrival and check-in
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm Structure and Molecular Dynamics of Signalling Molecules
Session chair: Gebhard F.X. Schertler (Cambridge, United Kingdom)
7:30 pm - 7:35 pmWelcome from the conference chair
7:35 pm - 7:45 pmIntroduction
7:45 pm - 8:10 pm Stephen Sprang (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX)
"Structural insights into G13 signal transduction"
8:10 pm - 8:20 pmDiscussion
8:20 pm - 8:45 pmKrzysztof Palczewski (University of Washington, Seattle, WA)
"Rhodopsin: a prototypical G-protein-coupled receptor"
8:45 pm - 8:55 pmDiscussion
8:55 pm - 9:20 pm Brian Kobilka (Stanford University, Stanford, CA)
"Conformational dynamics of beta 2 adrenoceptor: the effect of ligand structure on receptor structure"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pmDiscussion
MONDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmSpatio-Temporal Organization of Signalling Complexes I
Session chair: Joel Bockaert (UPR CNRS, Montpellier, France)
9:00 am - 9:10 amIntroduction
9:10 am - 9:35 amDaniel Choquet (CNRS-Université de Bordeaux, France)
"Single molecule imaging of activity dependent glutamate receptor trafficking in and out synapses"
9:35 am - 9:45 amDiscussion
9:45 am - 10:10 amDavid P Siderovski (UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medecine, NC)
"Natural and artificial non-receptor guanine nucleotide exchange factors for heterotrimeric G-protein alpha subunits"
10:10 am - 10:20 amDiscussion
10:20 amCoffee Break / Photo
11:00 am - 11:25 amGang Pei (Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Shanghai, China)
"Beta-arrestin-mediated Modulation of NF-kB Pathway by G Protein-coupled Receptor Signaling"
11:25 am - 11:35 amDiscussion
11:35 am - 11:50 amCarsten Hoffmann (University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany)
"A FlAsH-based FRET approach to determine G-protein coupled receptor activation in living cells"
11:50 am - 12:05 pmJaroslav Blahos (Institute of Experimental Medicine, Czech Academy of Science, Prague, Czech Republic)
"Single heptahelical domain is turned on upon activation of a dimeric GPCR"
12:05 pm - 12:20 pmBice Chini (CNR Institute of Neuroscience, Milan, Italy)
"Regulation of the oxytocin receptor coupling specificity: role of lipid rafts and atosiban, a "biased" agonist compound"
12:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Poster Session 1 (abstract # 1 to 45)
5:30 pm - 7:30 pmSpatio-Temporal Organization of Signalling Complexes II
Session chair: Susanna Cotecchia (Universite de Lausanne, Switzerland)
5:30 pm - 5:40 pm Introduction
5:40 pm - 6:05 pm Roger Davis (University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA)
"Signal transduction by stress-activated MAP kinases"
6:05 pm - 6:15 pm Discussion
6:15 pm - 6:40 pmQin Wang (Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA)
"Regulation of GPCR trafficking and signaling by multidomain protein-spinophilin"
6:40 pm - 6:50 pmDiscussion
6:50 pm - 7:05 pmFederico Mayor (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain)
"PKA-dependent association of 14-3-3 proteins to beta1-adrenergic receptors modulates HERG K+ channel activity"
7:05 pm - 7:20 pmKevin Yang Xiang (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA)
"PDE4D is required for beta2AR subtype-specific signaling"
8:00 pm Dinner
TUESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmSignalling and Pharmacological Responses in Living Organisms
Session chair: Emilliana Borrelli (Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Strasbourg, France)
9:00 am - 9:20 am Introduction
9:20 am - 10:10 am Plenary Lecture: Cornelia I. Bargmann (University of California, San Francisco, California)
"Unconventional signaling pathways for unconventional senses"
10:10 am - 10:20 amDiscussion
10:20 am Coffee Break
10:50 am - 11:15 amJay A. Gingrich (Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY)
"5-HT2A receptor signaling and hallucinogen action: Implications for the therapy of psychotic disorders"
11:15 am - 11:25 amDiscussion
11:25 am - 11:50 amAlbert Zlotnik (Neurocrine Biosciences, San Diego, CA)
"An evolutionary perspective on the chemokine superfamily and uses of gene expression to understand ligand-receptor interactions"
11:50 am - 12:00 pmDiscussion
12:00 pm - 12:15 pmHubert H.M. Van Tol (Centre for Addiction & Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada)
"CRE-Dependent Gene Expression in Response to Starvation in C.Elegans"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pmMaria Waldhoer (University of California-San Francisco, Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, Emeryville, CA, USA)
"The first heterodimer-selective agonist shows in vivo relevance of G protein-coupled receptor dimers"
12:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Poster Session 2 (abstract # 46 to 90)
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm Computational biology applied to cell signalling
Session chair: Olivier Lichtarge (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX)
5:30 pm - 5:40 pmIntroduction
5:40 pm - 6:05 pmHarrel Weinstein (Weill Medical College of Cornell University (WCMC), NY)
"A structural and computational perspective on the regulation of functional selectivity in GPCRs by protein-protein interactions"
6:05 pm - 6:15 pmDiscussion
6:15 pm - 6:40 pm Rama Ranganathan (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX)
"Evolutionary Rules for Building a Protein Interaction Domain"
6:40 pm - 6:50 pm Discussion
6:50 pm - 7:15 pm Dennis Bray (University of Cambridge, UK)
"Bacterial chemotaxis: using computer models to unravel mechanism"
7:15 pm - 7:25 pmDiscussion
8:00 pm Dinner
WEDNESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmMolecular and cellular kinesis I: Cell Motility and Cytoskeletal Reorganization
Session chair: Diane Barber (University of California San Francisco, CA)
9:00 am - 9:10 amIntroduction
9:10 am - 9:35 amDiane Barber (University of California San Francisco, CA)
"H+ efflux at the leading edge steers directed migration"
9:35 am - 9:45 amDiscussion
9:45 am - 10:10 amSandrine Etienne-Manneville (Institut Curie, Paris, France)
"Regulation of microtubule organization during astrocyte migration"
10:10 am - 10:20 amDiscussion
10:20 am Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:25 amDianqing Wu (University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT)
"Regulation of leukocyte chemotaxis by PIP3 and small GTPases"
11:25 am - 11:35 am Discussion
11:35 am - 11:50 amMark Rasenick (University of Illinois Chicago, Dept of Physiology & Biophysics, Chicago, IL, USA)
"Gsalpha trafficks independently of beta 2 receptors and internalizes (inactivates) through lipid raft domains"
11:50 am - 12:05 pmEvgeni G. Ponimaskin (Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany)
"Role of new signaling pathways mediated by the 5-HT receptors in regulation of gene transcription and neuronal morphology"
12:05 pm - 12:20 pmNevin A. Lambert (Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, USA)
"The role of receptor lateral mobility in rapid GPCR signaling in CNS neurons"
12:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm - 5:30 pmFree Time (optional visit to winery)
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm Molecular and cellular Kinesis II: Trafficking of Signalling Molecules
Session chair: Mark von Zastrow (University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA)
5:30 pm - 5:40 pmIntroduction
5:40 pm - 6:05 pmScott D. Emr (University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA)
"Regulation of receptor signaling and trafficking by phosphoinositide lipids and ubiquitin"
6:05 pm - 6:15 pmDiscussion
6:15 pm - 6:40 pmIvan Dikic (Goethe University School of Medicine, Frankfurt, Germany)
"Receptor endocytosis and ubiquitination"
6:40 pm - 6:50 pmDiscussion
6:50 pm - 7:15 pmHarald Stenmark (The Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo, Norway)
"The molecular machinery that mediates lysosomal degradation of endocytosed receptors"
7:15 pm - 7:25 pm Discussion
8:00 pmDinner
THURSDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmPost-Translational Modifications in Signal Transduction
Session chair: Stefano Marullo (Institut Cochin, INSERM, Paris, France)
9:00 am - 9:10 am Introduction
9:10 am - 9:35 am Hiroaki Matsunami (Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC)
"Regulation of functional expression of mammalian odorant receptors by accessory proteins"
9:35 am - 9:45 amDiscussion
9:45 am - 10:10 amSudha K. Shenoy (Duke University Medical Center,Durham, NC)
"Regulation of ERK Scaffolding and Signaling by Beta-Arrestin Ubiquitination"
10:10 am - 10:20 amDiscussion
10:20 am Coffee Break
10:50 am - 11:15 amKendall J. Blumer (Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO)
“Regulating RGS Proteins by Palmitoylation”
11:15 am - 11:25 amDiscussion
11:25 am - 11:40 amAlan V. Smrcka (University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY, USA)
"Pharmacological Targeting of G Protein bg Subunits"
11:40 am - 11:55 amThomas Slagsvold (Norwegian Cancer Society, Montebello, Oslo, Norway)
"Eap45 in mammalian ESCRT-II binds ubiquitin via a novel GLUE domain"
11:55 am - 12:10 pmGabriel A. Vargas (University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA)
"A newly identified naturally occurring human vasopressin 2 receptor mutant eludes desensitization and is therefore constitutively active"
12:10 pm - 12:30 pmBusiness Meeting
12:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm - 6:00 pmFree Time
6:00 pm - 7:30 pmKeynote Address
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Marc G. Caron (Duke University Medical Center, HHMI, Durham NC)
"Molecular Pharmacology of Signal Transduction in Animal Models"
8:00 pmDinner
FRIDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 amDeparture
Last Updated: August 14, 2006