Insulin-like Growth Factors in Physiology and Disease

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Gordon Research Conferences on Insulin-like Growth Factors in Physiology & Disease are planned for March 2003, March 2005 and March 2007 in Ventura, California. The IGFs, IGF receptors and the IGF binding proteins currently are the focus of intense investigation across numerous fields and have been implicated in several metabolic and disease states including cancer and diabetes. The conference programs will represent the core of important new research in IGF biology and will be designed to foster interactions between investigators interested in mechanisms of IGF regulation and signaling and those interested in the IGFs in cancer, development, physiology, endocrinology and metabolism. The program for 2003 includes opening presentations on the IGFs in development and in cell transformation. Several sessions on the rapidly emerging area of IGFs and cancer will cover epidemiology and basic mechanisms with a focus on breast and prostate cancer. Other sessions include IGF signaling and the similarities/differences with insulin signaling, the role of IGFs in metabolic diseases, the molecular biology of the IGFs and receptors, the actions of the IGFBPs and their proteases, and the function of IGFs in specific tissues including bone and reproductive tissues. The closing session of the conference will focus on the very new, exciting topic of insulin/IGF signaling in the regulation of life-span and aging. Subsequent meetings that are planned for 2005 and 2007 will focus on current developments in IGF signaling and regulation in critical cellular and disease processes. A significant strength of these conferences is that the biology of the IGFs is of interest to investigators across numerous disciplines. The IGF Gordon Research Conference will be a critical mechanism to promote interaction between investigators interested in IGF biology and those interested in carcinogenesis and metabolic disorders. Such interactions will be essential for rapid progress in understanding the diverse functions and regulation of the IGF ligands, receptors and binding proteins an their roles in normal tissue function and in disease.