2009 Stem Cells and Cancer Gordon Conference

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This second Gordon Research Conference on Stem cells & Cancer will focus on integrating current knowledge concerning the regulation of self-renewal of normal stem cells and on cellular reprogramming and how these processes are disrupted in cancer. Stem cells play a critical role in normal development and a myriad of human diseases. Recent evidence has implicated stem cells in processes such as aging, cancer and hereditary diseases organs such as the gut, skin, brain and blood. In addition, understanding the process by which stem cells regenerate themselves holds promise for cell therapy for diseases such as diabetes, stroke, heart attacks, cancer, hereditary and acquired muscular dystrophy, spinal chord injury, and certain birth defects. Finally, this GRC on Stem Cells and Cancer has relevance to bioterrorism, in particular related to the thread of radiation that eradicates stem cells of the blood, gut and brain. Expansion of normal stem cells is under genetic constraints. Cancer stem cells have escaped these limitations on expansion resulting in expansion of the self-renewing cell populations. The goals of this meeting are to understand present the most current research into the cellular and molecular biology of cancer stem cells. Topics that will be explored in this meeting are the cancer stem cell niche, the cell of origin of cancer stem cells, Cellular reprogramming, regulation of stem cell self-renewal in normal stem cells and cancer, and cancer stem cells as therapeutic targets. Specific aims are: 1. To explore the molecular mechanisms that regulate normal stem cell self-renewal and the role that oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes play in this process. 2. To explore how cancer cell self-renewal differs from that of normal stem cells. 3. To discuss the organization of the developmental hierarchy of normal stem cells in organs in which common cancers arise. 4. To explore the emerging molecular pathways that govern reprogramming of differentiated cells into induced pluripotent stem cells. 5. To present the latest research investigating the interaction of stem cells with normal stromal cell components/niche signaling. 6. To discuss novel cellular markers that can specifically identify normal and cancer stem cells 7. To discuss emerging strategies to develop therapies specifically targeting self-renewing cancer cells. Public Health Relevance: Stem cells are central to the function of normal organs and tissues and damage to stem cells likely plays a role in the development of cancer and many human diseases. Furthermore, stem cell replacement therapy might prove useful for corrected organ damage from injury or disease. Thus, this conference has major implications in many aspects of human health including cancer, aging, diabetes, heart disease, spinal chord injury and stroke.