2005 Biology and Pathology of Cartilage Gordon Conference

描述（由申请人提供）： 碳水化合物在人类健康中起着至关重要的作用。软骨是骨骼形成和生长所必需的，也存在于骨的关节表面，经常受到损伤，导致严重的关节功能障碍。软骨疾病将在我们的老龄化人口中越来越占主导地位。这一事实使软骨成为组织工程的主要目标。对软骨生成机制和软骨疾病发病机制的深入了解是生物医学研究的重中之重。2003年3月在加州的文图拉举行了戈登研究会议。会议取得了巨大成功，与会者给予会议的高度评价就证明了这一点。 第二次戈登研究会议的生物学和病理学的carpendum将讨论领域，令人兴奋的新进展已经取得。这将包括软骨发育生物学和软骨细胞分化的最新进展，对软骨细胞外基质成分及其相互作用的作用的新见解，我们对人类软骨疾病（包括骨关节炎和类风湿性关节炎以及越来越多的影响软骨的单基因疾病）的理解的进展，软骨降解机制研究的最新进展，和软骨的生物力学，以及软骨重塑和修复的最新进展，以及骨关节炎流行病学的新发现。这次会议的一个特别重点将是关节软骨和发展研究的潜力，以告知组织工程的功能软骨。 在这些不同领域取得的重大进展、拟议发言人的素质、会议的跨学科性质、来自学术界和制药公司的科学家的拟议组合、与会者中包括博士后研究员、研究生和少数民族，都应有助于这次会议的成功。会议将于2005年6月5日至9日在意大利巴尔加的II Ciocco举行。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cartilage plays an essential role in human health. Cartilages are needed for formation and growth of the skeleton and are also present at the joint surface of bones, frequently undergoing damage that results in severe joint dysfunction. Diseases of cartilage will be increasingly predominant in our aging population. This fact makes cartilage a prime target for tissue engineering. An improved understanding of the mechanisms by which cartilages are generated and the pathogenesis of cartilage diseases are a high priority in biomedical research. The founding Gordon Research Conference n the Biology and Pathology of Cartilage was held in March 2003 in Ventura, California. It was a great success as attested by the very high marks given the Conference by the participants. The second Gordon Research Conference on the Biology and Pathology of Cartilage will discuss areas in which exciting new progress has been achieved. This will include recent advances in the developmental biology of cartilage and differentiation of chondrocytes, new insights into the role of extracellular matrix components of cartilages and their interactions, advances in our understanding of human cartilage diseases including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis as well as a growing number of monogenetic diseases affecting cartilages, recent progress in studying the mechanisms of cartilage degradation, and the biomechanics of cartilages, as well as recent advances in cartilage remodeling and repair, and new findings in the epidemiology of osteoarthritis. A particular emphasis of this conference will be on articular cartilage and the potential for developmental studies to inform tissue engineering of functional cartilage. The considerable progress that has been achieved in these different areas, the quality of the proposed speakers, the interdisciplinary nature of the conference, the proposed mix of scientists from academia and pharmaceutical companies, the inclusion of post-doctoral fellows, graduate students and minorities among the participants should all contribute to the success of this conference. The conference will be held at the II Ciocco, Barga, Italy on June 5-9, 2005.