Fourth International Workshop on Iron and Copper Homeostasis, Pucon, Chile, November 28 - December 3, 2011

1132351，Garrick第四届铁和铜稳态国际研讨会（4 IWICH）将于11月28日至12月3日在智利普孔举行。正如“第四届”所暗示的那样，这是一个非常成功的系列中的最新一届，所有这些都在智利举行。该研讨会汇集了研究铁或铜代谢或两者的研究人员。将前两个社区的选定成员聚集在一起有助于增加社区成员，他们欣赏，理解并积极调查这些研究领域之间的重叠。这种重叠以多种方式发生，有些是在IWICH首次宣布/探索的。例如，演示和讨论已经涵盖了二价金属转运蛋白（DMT 1，又名SLC 11 A2，Nramp 2，DCT 1）如何转运两种金属，并考虑亚铁或三价铁（答案亚铁）离子是否是底物，或者类似地是否转运亚铜或铜（答案仍有争议）离子。3 IWICH也是一位年轻的美国研究人员首次宣布缺铁大鼠的门克斯铜ATP酶（Atp 7a）转录升高的地方。肠细胞在两种金属之间建立了新的联系。铜参与铜蓝蛋白和铁蛋白（多铜铁氧化酶）的活动也是IWICH的演讲和讨论的主题。这两种金属在神经退行性疾病中的作用越来越大，这是研讨会的特点，而其他新的和已知的联系一直是前三届IWICH以及特马（人类和动物的微量元素）13的主题，这是一个国际会议，在第三次研讨会之后进行干预，基本上推迟了第四次研讨会的需要。国际讲习班清楚地表明了举办这种会议的知识价值，出版了两期专门报道会议情况的期刊（《生物金属》和《生物研究》）也是如此。在正式和非正式的互动中，也发展了多种国际合作。参加这些会议之一是一个重要的刺激因素，吸引了许多年轻的研究人员，特别是来自智利，也来自亚洲，澳大利亚，巴西，加拿大，欧洲和美国的研究铁和铜稳态。与之前的两次会议一样，第四次研讨会将在智利普孔的格兰酒店举行，该酒店为残疾客人提供了充分的设施。东道国也有研究铜毒性的强烈动机，因为智利的地质支柱安第斯山脉不仅是智利的重要铜来源，为智利提供了强大的经济基础，而且还导致几乎所有淡水来源都受到大量铜的污染。智利需要了解这些风险的长期影响。鉴于这个研讨会已经建立了自己的适应能力，如强大的智力影响，促进国际合作，并对基础研究，医学研究和环境研究产生广泛的影响，人们可能会想知道为什么需要NSF的支持。答案是，研讨会将独立地从美国吸引一些高级研究人员，他们将使用自己的研究赠款或其他资源来支持他们的到来，但年轻的研究人员必须有旅行支持才能参加。第一次和第二次IWICH得到了美国各资助机构的充分支持，但美国对下一次会议的支持有所下降。组织者将有限的资源集中在将一些年轻的美国科学家带到智利，并建议现在NSF帮助保持新的研究人员参与（并希望帮助领导）这一领域的关键功能。还需要特别注意它如何与生物医学工程相适应。像供水中高含量铜的潜在影响这样的问题，会议？的持续关注的作用，铁，铜和锰在神经退行性变的答案之一。通过涉及金属离子及其在线粒体中的作用的干预措施进行预防和治疗，线粒体是细胞运动和功能的大多数细胞能量的供应者，作为铁和铜代谢步骤的关键位点，这些步骤最近才产生新的分子和基因组方法，将4 IWICH置于桥接基础，医学和环境科学的目标上，应用于金属离子体内平衡，从而适合BME？神经工程和细胞生物力学的主题。

1132351, GarrickThe Fourth International Workshop on Iron and Copper Homeostasis (4IWICH) will be held in Pucón, Chile 28 November - 3 December. As "Fourth" implies, it is the latest in a highly successful series, all held in Chile. The workshop brings together researchers who study iron or copper metabolism or both. Bringing selected members of the first two communities together helps to increase membership in the community that appreciates, understands and actively investigates the overlap between these areas of research. This overlap occurs in multiple ways, some first announced / explored at an IWICH. For examples, presentations and discussions have covered how divalent metal transporter (DMT1, aka SLC11A2, Nramp2, DCT1) transports both metals and considered whether ferrous or ferric (answer ferrous) ions are the substrate or similarly whether cuprous or cupric (answer still debated) ions are transported. Also 3IWICH was where a young American investigator first announced that Menkes Copper Atpase (Atp7a) transcript was elevated in iron deficient rats? intestinal cells establishing a new link between the two metals. Participation of Cu in the activity of ceruloplasmin and hephaestin (multi-copper ferroxidases) also serves as a topic of presentations and discussions at IWICHs. Increasingly roles of the two metals in neurodegenerative disorders are features of the workshop while other links novel and known have been topics at each of the first three IWICHs as well as well as at TEMA (Trace Elements for Man and Animals) 13, an international meeting that intervened after the 3rd workshop and essentially served to postpone the need for the 4th workshop. The international workshops clearly demonstrate the intellectual merit of having such assemblies as does the publication of two special issues of journals (BioMetals and Biological Research) covering the proceedings. Multiple international collaborations have also developed from the formal and informal interactions. Attending one of these conferences has been an important stimulus that attracted multiple young investigators particularly from Chile but also from Asia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Europe and the USA into research in iron and copper homeostasis. Like 2 of the meetings before it, the 4th workshop will be held at the Gran Hotel in Pucón, Chile, a facility that has full provisions for disabled guests. The host country also has a strong motive for research into copper toxicity because the Andes, the geological backbone of Chile, not only provide a strong economic basis for Chile by being a great source of copper, but also lead to contamination of nearly all fresh water sources with substantial levels of copper. Chile needs to know the long term effects of these exposures. Given that this workshop has already established itself to fit descriptives like strong intellectual impact, promoting international collaborations and having a broad impact on basic research, medical research and environmental studies, one may wonder why there is a need for NSF support. The answer is that the workshop will independently attract from the USA some senior investigators who will use their own research grants or other resources to support their coming, but younger investigators must have travel support in order to attend. The First and Second IWICHs had adequate support from various US grant agencies, but US support declined for the next meeting. The organizers focused their limited resources on bringing some young American scientists to Chile and propose now that the NSF help in this critical function of keeping the newer investigators involved in (and one hopes helping to lead) this field. Particular attention also needs to be paid to how it fits with Biomedical Engineering. Issues like the potential effects of high levels of Cu in the water supply, the meeting?s continuing focus on the roles of Fe, Cu and Mn in neurodegeneration are among the answers. Prevention and treatment through interventions involving metal ions as well as their roles in mitochondria, the suppliers of most cellular energy for cellular movements and function, as critical loci for steps in iron and copper metabolism that are only recently yielding to the new molecular and genomic approaches place 4IWICH on target for bridging basic, medical and environmental sciences as applied to metal ion homeostasis and thus as fitting BME?s themes of neural engineering and cellular biomechanics.