2007 CB2 Cannabinoid Meeting

CB 2 cannabinoid receptors：new vistas是一个原创和独特的会议，其目的是汇集来自学术界和工业界的知名科学家，博士后和研究生，他们对CB 2 cannabinoid receptors system的生物学感兴趣。本次会议将于2007年5月31日至6月3日在加拿大阿尔伯塔省班夫市举行。我们对CB 2受体的生物学作用的理解远远落后于CB 1受体。然而，许多学术和工业实验室正在进行的工作表明，CB 2受体在许多慢性炎症性疾病中起着重要作用。一方面，这些疾病的发病机制和进展很可能受到大麻使用的影响。或者，操纵CB 2受体和/或激活它们的内源性大麻素可能在治疗上是有益的。CB 2受体与慢性疼痛、肝纤维化、骨质疏松症、胃肠动力、动脉粥样硬化和神经炎症等多种过程和疾病有关。除了在理解CB 2受体在病理状态中的作用方面的进展之外，在解开CB 2受体信号传导方面也取得了进展，并且已经开发了许多新的CB 2配体。CB 2领域快速发展的一个意想不到的后果是，这些进步发生在不同的学科中，由于各种原因，这些学科交流和分享研究结果的机会有限。本次会议的目标是将这些不同的团体聚集在一起，介绍CB 2领域的最新发现，并确定未来调查的最重要和最有价值的领域。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): CB2 cannabinoid receptors: new vistas is an original and unique conference whose aim is to bring together established scientists, post-docs, and graduate students from academia and industry who are interested in the biology of the CB2 cannabinoid receptor system. This meeting will be held in Banff, Alberta, Canada from May 31 to June 3, 2007. Our understanding of the biological role of CB2 receptors has lagged considerably behind that of CB1 receptors. However, ongoing work from a number of labs, both academic and industrial, suggests that CB2 receptors play an important role in many chronic inflammatory diseases. On one hand the pathogenesis and progression of these diseases may well be affected by cannabis use. Alternatively, manipulation of CB2 receptors and/or the endogenous cannabinoids activating them may be therapeutically beneficial. CB2 receptors have been implicated in processes and diseases as diverse as chronic pain, hepatic fibrosis, osteoporosis, gastrointestinal motility, atherosclerosis, and neuroinflammation. In addition to advances in understanding the role of CB2 receptors in pathological states, progress has been made in the unraveling CB2 receptor signaling and numerous novel CB2 ligands have been developed. An unintended consequence of the rapid development of the CB2 field is that these advances have occurred in disparate disciplines, which for a variety of reasons have a limited opportunity to communicate and share findings. The goal of this meeting is to bring together these diverse groups, present the most recent findings in the CB2 field, and to determine the most important and rewarding areas for future investigation.