Conference: 2010 Intermediate Filaments Gordon Research Conference, June 20-25, 2010, Tilton School, New Hampshire

Lay AbstractMCB-0963666高曼，罗伯特，2010年中长丝戈登研究会议智力价值。中间丝(IF)是脊椎动物细胞质和细胞核中的重要结构蛋白，它们分别帮助形成所谓的“细胞骨架”和“核骨架”。它们为细胞提供了稳定性和机械弹性。If代表最大的基因家族之一，有70多个基因编码具有组织类型特异性的蛋白质，并以发育调节的方式表达。最近关于IF与其他细胞骨架和核骨架元素相互作用的研究为了解它们在许多不同组织中对细胞结构和功能的独特贡献提供了重要的见解。重要的是，IF中的缺陷是许多人类疾病的罪魁祸首，从水疱性皮肤病到肌肉营养不良和过早衰老障碍。这些发现，结合最近的基础研究表明IF可以调节蛋白质的生物合成和基因表达，需要对IF主要是结构蛋白的经典观点进行修订，并有必要将IF研究与其他对蛋白质折叠、基因表达和信号转导感兴趣的研究社区联系起来。计划中的戈登中间丝研究会议旨在将已建立的IF研究小组暴露给来自不同领域的研究人员，提供一个加强IF在基本细胞结构和功能中作用的研究的机会。戈登关于IF的研究会议汇集了来自世界各地的初级、高级和少数级别的参与者，他们从功能、调节和结构的角度研究IF蛋白质。GRC传统上促进了新想法、工具和试剂的自由交流，并促进了与IF结构和功能领域的世界知名专家建立富有成效的教育和研究合作。GRC提供了一个独特的跨学科环境，来自不同背景的初级和高级调查人员可以聚集在一起，在一个非正式、轻松的环境中进行创新和协作的头脑风暴。口头陈述和海报描述了最新的前沿研究，为所有参与者之间的交流和讨论提供了基础。信息交流是开放的、活跃的和具有挑衅性的，经常唤起令人兴奋的新想法，导致富有成效的合作。2010年会议的计划将主要集中在新的结构和功能发现，它们在细胞信号和细胞器功能中的新角色，它们与之相互作用的相关蛋白质的扩大列表，以及潜在的新的研究方法。这次会议将为与细胞生物学、神经生物学、生理学、细胞运输、细胞结构、细胞分裂、细胞信号和细胞-细胞相互作用相关的其他学科提供一个重要的入口。简而言之，这次会议既有科学的作用，也有训练的作用。

Lay AbstractMCB-0963666Goldman, Robert2010 Intermediate Filament Gordon Research ConferenceIntellectual merit. Intermediate filaments (IF) are important structural proteins located in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus of vertebrate cells where they help to form the so-called "cytoskeleton" and "nucleoskeleton", respectively. They provide the cell with stability as well as mechanical resilience. IF represent one of the largest gene families, with over 70 genes coding for the proteins which are tissue-type specific and expressed in a developmentally regulated manner. Recent studies on IF interactions with other cytoskeletal and nucleoskeletal elements provide important insights into their unique contribution to the structure and function of cells in many different tissues. Importantly, defects in IF are responsible for a great many human diseases ranging from blistering skin diseases to muscular dystrophy and premature aging disorders. These findings, combined with recent basic research showing that IF can regulate protein biosynthesis and gene expression demand a revision of the classical view of IF as primarily structural proteins and necessitates linking IF research to other research communities with an interest in protein folding, gene expression, and signaling. The planned Gordon Research Conference on Intermediate Filaments is designed to expose established IF research groups to researchers from different fields, offering an opportunity to enhance studies of the role of IF in basic cell structure and function.Broader impacts. The Gordon Research Conference on IF brings together participants of junior, senior and minority ranks from all over the world who study IF proteins from functional, regulatory and structural perspectives. The GRC has traditionally fostered a free-flowing exchange of novel ideas, tools and reagents, and facilitated the establishment of productive educational and research collaborations with world renowned experts in the field of IF structure and function. GRC provides a unique cross-disciplinary setting in which junior and senior investigators from diverse backgrounds can come together for innovative and collaborative brainstorming in an informal, relaxed setting. Oral presentations and posters describing the most recent cutting-edge research provide the basis for give and take discussions among all participants. The exchange of information is open, lively and provocative, often evoking exciting new ideas that lead to fruitful collaborations. The program for the 2010 conference will have a major focus on novel structural and functional findings, their emerging role in cell signaling and organelle function, the enlarging list of associated proteins they interact with, and potential novel approaches for their study. The conference will provide an important entry into other disciplines relating IF functions to cell biology, neurobiology, physiology, cellular transport, cell architecture, cell division, cell signaling, and cell-cell interaction. In short, this conference will serve both a scientific and a training function.