2016 Ligand Recognition & Molecular Gating Gordon Research Conference & Gordon Research Seminar

 描述(由申请人提供)：关于配基识别和分子门控的戈登研究会议(GRC)和戈登研究研讨会(GRS)将于2016年1月30日至2月5日在意大利卢卡(Barga)的文艺复兴托斯卡纳Il Ciocco度假村举行。GRC是一次独特的会议，旨在召集致力于阐明三类重要膜蛋白的分子功能机制的科学家：离子通道、膜转运体和交换器，以及G蛋白偶联受体(GPCRs)。具体地说，GRC的重点是受体、转运体和通道功能的机械方面，包括它们与配体(离子、小分子、蛋白质)的相互作用：它们如何结合或识别配体，以及结合如何引起构象变化，从而导致配体的跨膜运输、通道的门控或信号传输。重点是将高分辨率结构数据与功能和动力学信息相结合，以了解细胞中的机制和生理作用。这次会议是及时的，因为膜蛋白的新的高分辨率结构正在以越来越快的速度得到解决。此外，正在开发研究受体、通道和转运体动力学的新方法，并改变我们理解功能机制的方式。GRC涵盖的领域与人类健康高度相关：通道、转运体和GPCRs具有重要的生理作用，它们是主要的药物靶点(市场上50%以上的可用药物)，这些膜蛋白的缺陷导致许多人类疾病(如神经、心脏、内分泌、肌肉)。了解这些重要类别的蛋白质如何发挥作用，对于了解它们在人类生理和疾病中的作用是必要的。这次会议聚集了不定期会面的科学家，因为他们研究三种不同类别的膜蛋白，而且至少分布在两个不同的大陆。然而，它们从相互作用中受益匪浅，因为这些蛋白质共享共同的机械原理。该项目将有约40名演讲者、知名领导人以及在这些领域有前途的年轻研究人员。九场会议将讨论膜转运体、离子通道、GPCRs的结构、动力学、机制和生理学。关于配基识别和分子门控的GRC和GRS将通过聚集该社区最顶尖的科学家来展示和比较结果、讨论新想法并建立合作，从而促进膜蛋白研究领域的进步。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Ligand Recognition and Molecular Gating will be held from January 30 to February 5, 2016, at the Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco Resort, Lucca (Barga), Italy. This GRC is a unique meeting aimed at gathering scientists working on elucidating the molecular mechanisms of function of three important classes of membrane proteins: ion channels, membrane transporters and exchangers, and G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Specifically, the focus of this GRC is on mechanistic aspects of receptor, transporter and channel function, including their interaction with ligands (ions, small molecules, proteins): how they bind or recognize ligands, and how binding elicits conformational changes that lead to transport of the ligands across the membrane, the gating of channels, or the transmission of signals. There will be emphasis on combining high-resolution structural data with functional and dynamical information to understand mechanisms and physiological roles in cells. The conference is timely because new high-resolution structures of membrane proteins are solved at increasingly rapid pace. In addition, new methods to study the dynamics of the receptors, channels and transporters are being developed and transform the way we understand functional mechanisms. The fields covered in this GRC are highly related to human health: channels, transporters and GPCRs have crucial physiological roles, they are major drug targets (for more than 50% of the available drugs on the market) and defects in these membrane proteins lead to numerous human diseases (such as neurological, cardiac, endocrine, muscle). Understanding how these important classes of proteins function is mandatory to understand their roles in human physiology and disease. The conference brings together scientists who do not meet regularly because they work on three different classes of membrane proteins and are located on at least two different continents. However, they benefit tremendously from interacting because the proteins share common mechanistic principles. The program will have ~40 speakers, well-established leaders as well as promising young investigators in these fields. Nine sessions will address structure, dynamics, mechanism, and physiology of membrane transporters, ion channels, GPCRs. The GRC and GRS on Ligand Recognition and Molecular Gating will stimulate advances in this area of membrane protein research by bringing together the foremost scientists in this community to present and compare results, discuss new ideas, and establish collaborations.