FASEB SRC: The Biology of Calpains in Health and Disease

总结 这个R13提案正在征求为FASEB夏季研究提供部分支持 会议上的“生物学的钙蛋白酶在健康和疾病”。这次会议已成为一个 来自不同学科的calpain研究人员会面和交换未发表数据的重要手段 和专业知识。通过这些会议（每三年举行一次）， 在以钙蛋白酶为重点的研究者、临床医生和行业之间， 互动和曝光，这是由FASEB SRC场馆培养。会议提供了一个 在出版前进行信息交流的智力参与论坛，并允许教师和 他们的学员了解新兴的研究和稀有资源和试剂的可用性。这些 机会有效地增加了对钙蛋白酶研究的兴趣，吸引了年轻的研究人员， 新发现钙蛋白酶是一类高度保守的蛋白酶 在物种中广泛分布于组织中。自从他们被发现以来， 在了解它们的多样性、结构、生理作用和参与 疾病的数量。今天，超过7,000篇研究文章关注钙蛋白酶。因为 钙蛋白酶与诸如眼病、神经变性、肌肉和 代谢疾病、伤口愈合、胃肠疾病、炎症和癌症，该领域是 不断扩大。在国家卫生研究院，国防部和国家科学基金会之间，联邦政府投资超过 每年在这一研究领域投入3300万美元，资助了90多个涉及钙蛋白酶的项目。 该会议由以下人员共同组织：斯坦福大学的Vinit Mahajan、西方大学的Michel Baudry 健康科学大学，波莫纳，加利福尼亚州，利亚Kottyan，辛辛那提儿童医院医疗中心 和Frederic Brocard，法国艾克斯-马赛大学。会议咨询委员会包括： 彼得戴维斯，皇后大学，阿萨奇什蒂，塔夫茨大学，多萝西克罗阿尔，缅因州大学，吉姆 Geddes，肯塔基州大学，Peter Greer，加拿大皇后大学，Kevin Wang， 来自佛罗里达。这次FASEB组织的会议是钙蛋白酶研究人员的主要机会， 收集和交换未发表的数据，并协同研究项目 和想法。因此，这次会议利用NIH的投资，并促进该领域的进展。 今年的会议有一个关于钙蛋白酶和眼部疾病的重要组成部分， 揭示了各种钙蛋白酶突变在几种眼部疾病中的作用。

SUMMARY This R13 proposal is being solicited to provide partial support for a FASEB Summer Research Conference on “The Biology of Calpains in Health and Diseases”. This conference has become a vital means for calpain researchers from different disciplines to meet and exchange unpublished data and expertise. Through these conferences (which occur every three years), productive collaborations between calpain-focused investigators, clinicians and industry have been facilitated, due to increased interaction and exposure, which are fostered by the FASEB SRC venues. The meeting has provided an intellectually engaging forum for information exchange prior to publication and has allowed faculty and their trainees to learn about emerging research and the availability of rare resources and reagents. These opportunities effectively increase the interest in calpain research, attract young investigators and propel new discoveries. Calpains comprise a large family of proteases that are tremendously conserved amongst species and are ubiquitously distributed in tissues. Since their discovery, there has been remarkable progress in understanding their diversity, structure, physiological roles and involvement in a number of diseases. Today, more than 7,000 research articles focus on the calpains. Because of the increasing relevance of calpains to diseases such as eye diseases, neurodegeneration, muscle and metabolic diseases, wound healing, gastrointestinal disease, inflammation, and cancer, the field is continuously expanding. Between the NIH, the DOD and NSF, the federal government invests more than $33 millions per year in this research area, funding more than 90 projects involving calpain proteases. The meeting is being co-organized by: Vinit Mahajan, Stanford University, Michel Baudry, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA, Leah Kottyan, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Frederic Brocard, Universite Aix-Marseille, France. The Meeting Advisory Committee includes: Peter Davies, Queens University, Athar Chishti, Tufts University, Dorothy Croall, University of Maine, Jim Geddes, University of Kentucky, Peter Greer, Queens University, Canada, and Kevin Wang, University of Florida. This FASEB-organized meeting is the primary opportunity for calpain researchers around the world to gather and exchange unpublished data and to synergize research projects and ideas. Thus, this meeting leverages NIH’s investment and catalyzes progress in the field. This year Conference has a strong component on Calpains and Eye Disorders, as recent findings have revealed the roles of various calpain mutations in several eye disorders.